Three alleged tomb raiders from Indiana have been arrested for ” from cemetery niches containing cremated remains” across the “eastern half of the United States,” authorities say.
Now law enforcement agencies are urging people to check the cemeteries where their loved ones are interred.
Twenty cases have been identified alone.
“But detectives believe there could be many more,” who just dont realize theyve been victimized yet, the Orange County Sheriffs Office in Florida wrote in a post on X.
“What a horrible person you are if you decide to steal from the dead,” a sheriffs office spokesman said in a video asking for help identifying the thieves.
“These three people are going to cemeteries, breaking into deceased people’s niches, and stealing their family heirlooms.”
Within days, Drake Lee Milam, 33, and Angela Garrett, 52, were arrested in Indiana, court records show. And Porsche Bancroft, 32, turned herself in at Floridas Seminole County Jail.
In court records, Bancroft was identified as the girlfriend of Milam and the daughter of Garrett. Her arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 22 in Sanford, Florida. And a trial has been set for Feb. 8.
Milam and Garrett will be extradited to Florida to face charges, according to the Orange County Sheriffs Office. But their court documents were not accessible, a representative with the Seminole County Clerk of Court told Fox News Digital.
“All three face a variety of charges, including injuring or removing a tomb or monument; disturbing the contents of a grave or tomb; and grand theft over $20,000,” according to a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriffs Office in Florida.
A slew of mausoleum surveillance videos appear to show the trio breaking into glass-front niches, where urns of cremated remains and mementos are displayed, then removing items and strolling out, according to authorities.
“They’ve been everywhere from Oklahoma City to Minnesota to Texas [and] here in Florida,” the Orange County Sheriffs Office spokesman said. “They visited Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, even so far northeast as to Buffalo, New York.”
The accused grave robbers allegedly traveled through Illinois and New Jersey, too, the sheriffs office said in an email to Fox News Digital.
“Imagine losing your wife or husband and placing their wedding ring, and yours, in the niche â only to have them stolen by thieves looking for an easy payday,” the agency spokesman said. “This will not stand. Not in Florida.”
Florida police reports list a variety of items missing from cemeteries holding great sentimental and monetary value:
A husband reported his late wifes niche as missing their his-and-hers gold wedding rings and her Class of 1992 ring from Miami Southridge Senior High School. It was silver with a blue stone.
A wife reported as missing a ring given to her late husband for his 25th anniversary of working for The Walt Disney Co.
A father reported the theft of his daughters 1972 class ring with a blue stone.
A wife reported the theft of a 22-inch gold chain with a gold anchor from her late husbands</
