Undertaker News: Cemetery flags stolen, eaten

Police believe groundhogs are responsible for a series of flag thefts from war veteran graves that have outraged a New Jersey community. 

Hudson Police believe they have identified the perpetrators of a rash of flag thefts in the Grand Army of the Republic section of Cedar Park Cemetery. It appears to have been an inside job: All signs are now pointing to some underground residents of the cemetery itself.

Around 75 flags have been reported missing from Civil War graves in the days leading up to and following our nation’s Independence Day celebrations.

The culprit?

Woodchucks.

The disappearing flags led to suspicion in the community that vandals were deliberately targeting the graves.

But when authorities in Hudson recently decided to set up video surveillance, it showed the flags were not being taken by heartless thieves.

A camera instead showed groundhogs that inhabit the cemetery climbing the tombstones, apparently to snatch away the decorations.

Video cameras were later guided into the groundhog burrows and showed the creatures had amassed a vast collection of flags underground.

Hudson Mayor Bill Hallenbeck said he was glad that a resident was not the perpetrator. 

Cemetery volunteer caretaker Vincent Wallace participated in the investigation. Although he said he had seen no definitive evidence, “right now it looks like the woodchuck is the culprit. He was right there where the flag was gone.”

In addition, Wallace said, “the mechanics of removal from the pole indicate that an animal had removed them.”

Investigators observed that flags had been pulled down with the flagpole still in the holder, Wallace said.
“The flag is only a foot to 18 inches off the ground,” he said. “A human would have ripped it upwards.”
Wallace said the woodchuck dens, with their twists and turns, were presenting some problems to the pole cameras, which are rigid.

Woodchucks, he said, are “all over” the cemetery, burrowing under stones and under tree roots.“The police did a great job,” said Wallace, who assists the cemetery crew in taking care of the Grand Army of the Republic section.
“They did stakeouts, they did bike patrols, they had at least four officers on this.”
“We patrolled the daylights out of that place since it was going on,” Graziano said. “We can all rest a little easier knowing that it was a critter and not a human defacing our flags, especially those of the veterans. Now I just need to figure out where to send the bills.”
"I'm glad we don’t have someone who has taken it upon themselves to desecrate the stones and the flags in front of them," he said.