March 29, 2024
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Police investigate vandalism at Surry cemetery

SURRY – Wilbur Saunders can’t wrap his head around the notion that someone would vandalize something as sacred as a cemetery.

“They really would have to go out of their way, and for what?” Saunders said Friday from the Cunningham Ridge Road Cemetery in Surry.

Sometime within the last two weeks, vandals damaged 13 headstones at the small plot that sits on a rolling hill about a half-mile from Saunders’ home.

Most of the heavy stones were knocked off their bases but one of the markers, which belonged to a Civil War veteran, was cracked completely in two. A fence bordering the back edge of the lot also was damaged.

For Saunders, who is the cemetery’s caretaker, the vandalism affects him both professionally and personally.

“The whole thing bothers me, but what bothers the most is this,” he said, pointing to a modest white headstone that had been knocked over. The man buried there is his great-great-grandfather.

In fact, of the 30 or 40 graves in the private cemetery, 90 percent are members of Saunders’ family. Most date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. All but a handful have the same etched names: Saunders, Cunningham and Grindle.

“Everyone here was related in some way,” Saunders said. “A lot of people don’t know, but damaging cemetery property is a felony. I just feel real bad about it.”

Saunders contacted police late last week after he noticed the damage. Neighbors had heard noises coming from the cemetery late one night, Saunders said, but he didn’t know whether the voices were connected to the vandalism.

Maine State Police Trooper Michael Southard met Saunders at the cemetery and filed a report. So far, the caretaker hasn’t heard back.

“We have done interviews with neighbors and anyone that saw or heard anything,” Trooper Southard said Friday. “We have the time frame narrowed down real well. Now it’s just a matter of continuing our investigation.”

Southard said cemetery vandalism is not that common in Hancock County but it happens, indicating that the same lot was damaged about five years ago.

Depending on the monetary value applied to the damage, the trooper said charges could range from criminal mischief, a Class D misdemeanor, to aggravated criminal mischief, a Class C felony.

“The financial burden is one thing, but the problem here is that a lot of these gravestones are family members of the caretaker. You can’t put a price on that,” he said.

An initial estimate predicted the repairs would cost $1,500, but Saunders said he has talked to some people who think it might be a much higher number.

The town of Surry provides some funding for cemetery maintenance for the six cemeteries within the municipality but Saunders said it’s not a lot.

Anyone with information on vandalism at the Cunningham Ridge Road Cemetery can contact the Maine State Police in Ellsworth at 667-5697.


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