A mother tells Newswatch 16 that part of a memorial at her son’s gravesite is missing just days after she put it up.
MOSCOW, Pa. — The short walk from Linda Walsh’s car to her son William’s gravesite at St. Catherine’s Cemetery near Moscow is always one filled with emotion.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, I wish you almost took the picture so you could be haunted by it, this is what you did. You took something I left there for him,” said Walsh.
But on Monday, her visit ended in devastation after Walsh realized a statue of a dachshund resting on a bench was missing.
“The small picture had been ripped off, and the tape was still hanging from it, and they just placed it there,” said Walsh. “I was like somebody actually took it away.”
Just a few days old, the meaningful marker was placed next to William’s gravesite last Thursday, the third anniversary of his passing.
“And this is the one thing I can still do for my son, to show him that I love him. I can’t give him presents anymore. So this is my gift to him to let him know I am here. His dad is here. His siblings are always thinking of him,” said Walsh.
Mementos and gifts for those lost can be seen on or near headstones across the cemetery.
The statue left for William was symbolic of his dog that passed away just months after he was killed.
“It was a memory of my son with his dog, which was very important to him, to our family, and passed shortly after him. And we feel that the dog passed from a broken heart and was with him,” said Walsh.
Walsh is grateful for the support from friends, family, and the staff at St. Catherine’s Cemetery since the theft.
Now, Walsh just wants her son’s tribute returned. “But every little thing, it could be a little stone that, that could be something very meaningful to somebody that put it there, and you’re breaking their heart by taking it away. Just think twice before you do that,” she said.
In Pennsylvania, it is against the law to desecrate, steal, or sell objects from a burial plot, and those caught could face jail time.