Grave robbers target jewelry buried in Chilliwack cemetery
Coffin was not breached, but police are taking the incident seriously
Police in B.C.'s Fraser Valley say would-be grave robbers may be to blame after family members found their relative's gravesite partially dug up last week.
The family members found the coffin in the small Shxwha:y Village Cemetery exposed, but still closed — possibly only because it had been cemented shut.
Several shovels were found at the side of the grave.
RCMP with the Upper Fraser Valley detachment say it is believed that jewelry and other valuables may have been interred with the deceased relative 20 years ago.
Cpl. Len vanNieuwenhuizen said officers were taking the mischief done to the gravesite very seriously.
"The cemetery is located in a rural and remote area so we are asking the assistance of the general public in solving this,” he said in a written statement.
Police are asking anyone who knows something about this incident or who saw anything suspicious in the 44200 block of Chilliwack Mountain Road on or before April 20 to contact authorities.