Grave markers disappear from Glenwood Cemetery

Four small grave markers from the same family plot disappeared from the Glenwood Cemetery early in the week, the group that maintains the cemetery said, an unusual case that remains under investigation.

Bruce Erickson, the president of the Glenwood Cemetery Association, said the markers were a part of the plot of the Yates family. The markers date to either 1919 or 1920, Erickson said. Markers sometimes are inscribed with the initials of the person buried, but Erickson was unsure of the missing markers have inscriptions.

Each of the markers measured approximately eight inches tall, four inches wide and two inches deep. They weigh less than five pounds each, Erickson said. Visible divots remained at the site in the middle of the week.

The Park City Police Department received a report from the cemetery association Tuesday morning. The Police Department classified the case as a theft.

Erickson said the markers disappeared sometime between Sunday night and Monday. He was in the cemetery Sunday and was back there on Monday clearing brush. He noticed the markers were missing when he was there on Monday.

"It is getting close to Halloween. We don’t know if it was a prank," Erickson said.

The Yates family plot’s headstone was not damaged.

Phil Kirk, a Police Department captain, could not recall a similar incident in park City. The investigation is continuing. Kirk said the Police Department might have a lead, but investigators had not developed information about a suspect. An estimated value of the missing markers was not immediately available.

Glenwood Cemetery is situated off Silver King Drive on the edge of Thaynes Canyon. It is one of two cemeteries inside the Park City limits.

People with information about the case may contact the Police Department at 615-5500 or the department’s tip line, 615-5847.