Vandals cause extensive damage to Glenwood Cemetery in Picton

Police say a local cemetery looks like a war zone after vandals, reportedly, caused extensive damage to Glenwood Cemetery in Picton.

Staff at Glenwood Cemetery spent a good portion of Thursday assessing the damage to two sections of their property. They say around 200 headstones and monuments were damaged. Authorities say it happened sometime during the late afternoon or early evening on Wednesday June 20.  Helma Oonk is the cemetery manager.

“My first thought last night was there are at least a hundred stones down, now walking through the cemetery today [and] it’s a couple of hundred and I’m still seeing more that I didn’t see,” Oonk said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "My first thought last night was there are at least a hundred stones down, now walking through the cemetery today [and] it's a couple of hundred and I'm still seeing more that I didn't see," Oonk said.

A frustrated Oonk says she can’t understand why something like this could or would happen. She says it doesn’t make sense and those involved have no respect for the dead. Constable Pat Menard is one of the investigating Ontario Provincial Police officers.

“We would hope a level of conscience would take over and the individuals would turn themselves in,” Menard said. “We also hope that anyone that frequents the cemetery [is] able to come forth with information [for] us of people that they may have seen that had no reason to be here.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We would hope a level of conscience would take over and the individuals would turn themselves in," Menard said. "We also hope that anyone that frequents the cemetery [is] able to come forth with information [for] us of people that they may have seen that had no reason to be here."

There’s no dollar figure on the damage at this time. The O.P.P. is asking for the public’see help to identify the suspects. You can call the O.P.P. Provincial Communications Centre at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) with information.