A West Kelowna woman says the plaques on her husband’s and brother-in-law’s graves have gone missing from a cemetery — and they are not the only ones.
Adriana Peplinski said after she was notified by the cemetery about the vandalism last week, she went down to the site and counted 56 graves at the Westbank Cemetery with missing plaques.
“That’s the lowest of low to go steal plaques off a graveyard. That is hitting somebody when they are down,” Peplinski said.
Peplinski, who lost her husband 15 years ago, said both of her missing grave plaques were brass.
She now feels like she has no choice but to replace them with a granite headstone at her own expense.
She believes the granite will be less likely to be targeted by thieves.
“I just find it disgusting but what’s done is done,” she said.
“There is nothing you can do about it except replace them. I have to have some plaques there. The thing is I go there now (and) I don’t even know which grave is my husband’s because all that’s left is cement slabs.”
Global News has reached out to the City of West Kelowna, which administers the cemetery, and the RCMP for comment but has yet to receive a reply.
In July, four large bronze plaques were stolen from a Kelowna-area cemetery. The 2.5 by 3.5-foot plaques were believed to be worth several thousand dollars.
– with files from Doyle Potenteau
Watch: (May 2018) Grave markers stolen from Parkland County cemetery