By Kimberly Gasuras
Sarah Heckert was devastated when her baby daughter, Lily Marie Purdy, was stillborn but she was not prepared for the cruelty of having her baby’s headstone stolen from Oakwood Cemetery in Bucyrus.
Heckert said her baby died on July 14, 2016.
“I was so happy when I was finally able to place a headstone on her grave on Aug. 4 of this past summer,” said Heckert.
Heckert said her baby is buried in the same plot as her finance, William “Justin” Purdy’s father.
“For that year, there was only his headstone until we were able to get a headstone for our daughter,” said Heckert.
Heckert took her cousin, who was visiting from out of town, to her daughter’s gravesite on Friday.
“That is when I discovered that the stone was missing. I could not believe that someone would do that,” Heckert said.
When Heckert told family members about the situation, a relative said they had visited the gravesite on Sept. 11 and there was not a headstone for the baby.
“So, we know that it was stolen between Aug. 4 and Sept. 11,” said Heckert, who is now mom to a bouncing, five-month-old baby boy.
Heckert said she cannot think of anyone that would want to hurt her and her family like this.
“I can’t think of any enemies we have at all, and certainly cannot think of anyone that would do something so evil,” said Heckert.
Heckert said she filed a police report and spoke with the management of Oakwood Cemetery on Monday.
“They told me they had not moved the stone and that it met all of the rules of the cemetery. They also searched for the stone and have been very helpful but we have not located it and are asking for help from the community,” said Heckert.
According to the Bucyrus Police Department, no new information had been received about the missing stone as of Tuesday afternoon. Anyone with information should contact the police department at 419-562-1006.