'It just boggles my mind': Rural N.B. cemetery vandalized

James Mellish has many family members buried at Grey's Island Cemetery in Hillsborough, N.B.

His mother, father, two of his brothers, and an uncle are buried here, so when he heard someone had vandalized the grounds over the weekend he was deeply hurt.

"It's terrible. You know, these people don't have the respect for the dead. Everything is beautiful here. They should be tracked down and charged," said Mellish.

Cemetery gatekeeper Don Bowman says someone broke the lock and propped open the front gates sometime after 9 p.m. Saturday.

When he returned the next morning at 7 a.m., he noticed someone had taken a joyride and ripped up the grass, and even drove over a flat burial marker on the ground.

"You know, unfortunately we can't wake up the dead to get funds to help pay for repairs to the yard," said Bowman. "I know the grass will grow back and everything, but it's still, it's disrespectful to people that have paid their dues in our community to do this, and it's disrespectful to relatives who are alive in the community."

A flat burial marker which was driven over by vandals at the Grey's Island Cemetery in Hillsborough, N.B. (CTV/Derek Haggett) Bowman, who is also the vice-president of the cemetery's committee, said this was the second time in the past few weeks the lock has been broken off, and he's shocked to see this activity.

"The community is pretty well up in arms," said Bowman.

Bowman has not reached out to the RCMP because he's not sure exactly when the incident happened and the cemetery does not have security cameras.

"Cemeteries don't do fundraisers. We don't have a bake sale for the cemetery. It makes it very difficult to be able to put up cameras and make sure they're in secure places so we're not replacing the cameras weekly as well," said Bowman. "As far as locks, it doesn't seem like a lot but over time, this is the second lock that's been broken in a couple of weeks, these locks that we're putting on there aren't dollar store locks."

Established in 1825, Grey's Island Cemetery is best known for the headless statue and legend of Jenny Steeves, a 15-year-old local girl who died in 1900.

Generations of Albert County residents are buried there and the beautiful grounds are a source of pride for people in the area.

Wheel tracks going through the Grey's Island Cemetery in Hillsborough, N.B. (CTV/Derek Haggett) Village of Fundy Albert Mayor, Robert Rochon, said he's saddened by what happened.

"On some level you have to wonder whether the person or the people who are responsible for this have to have either a parent or a grandparent or a great grandparent that's in a grave somewhere and to defile it by driving over top of a marker is just, it's unthinkable," said Rochon.

Rochon said the municipality will reach out to the cemetery committee to see if they can do anything to take some preventive measures so there isn't a third incident.

"It's just unnecessary," said Rochon. "It just boggles my mind why someone would do this."

Rochon is asking anyone with any information about the vandalism to call the Southeast District RCMP Caledonia detachment or Crime Stoppers.

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