MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County investigators are looking for the culprits who damaged headstones and grave markers at a centuries old cemetery.
“Disrupted a lot of the stones, pushed them over, cracked some of them, wrote derogatory things, so there’s a lot of damage,” described Monongalia County Chief Deputy Perry Palmer. “There’s probably thousands of dollars worth of damage done here.”
Mt. Hermon Cemetery is located in a rural area of Monongalia County.
“It’s in the western end of the county, off the beaten path.” Perry explained. “The only reason we found out about it is because a guy that works for Consol coalmines has to run by there to check is watering sites or something, he’s the one that noticed it.”
The destruction may have occurred over the weekend of May 7th. Although, with little information early in the investigation, disgusted community members have put up a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. That, and word of mouth, makes police hopeful they will find the vandals.
“Somebody brags to somebody else. They’ll call us. Or they’ll call one of their friends who calls us and let’s us know what’s going on. That’s a starting point for us to follow up on it,” explained the chief deputy.
According to Palmer, the cemetery off of Long Drain Road has been targeted before, but it’s been several years.
“It’s definitely destruction of property. You’d be held accountable, charged with destruction or property which is a misdemeanor, and have to pay restitution and possible jail time for it,” Palmer noted.
Anyone with information is urged with call the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office at 304-291-7260.