102 Buried Urns Stolen From Cemetery

INDIANAPOLIS -- At least 102 buried urns were stolen from a west-side Indianapolis cemetery in the past week, and police say the thief or thieves may intend to sell the metal.

Buried Urns Taken, Police Say

The urns were taken from the ground at Floral Park Cemetery, upsetting the families of the dead whose ashes were in the containers, WRTV-TV in Indianapolis reported.

"It is a very personal matter and very disturbing -- emotional -- for our families that come back to the gravesite," cemetery manager Cinnamon Caughlan said Wednesday.

WRTV reported Friday that the urns contained flowers or were empty. No human remains were in the urns.

The cemetery said it has warned area scrap yards that someone might try to sell the urns to them.

Indianapolis police said they would patrol the cemetery to try to prevent more urn thefts.

No arrests have been made in the case.

"The two kinds of thieves people despise the most are ones that would steal from their family or steal from a graveyard. I think that just disgusts people to no end," Indianapolis police Lt. Steve Watts said.