Three people have been charged after police in York Region investigated hundreds of thefts from local cemeteries over the summer.
Investigators say more than 600 bronze nameplates and vases were taken from Beechwood Cemetery and Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Vaughan as well as Holy Cross Cemetery and Christ the King Cemetery in Markham since August.
Police say two men were seen using a pry bar to remove bronze name plates from several headstones on Sept. 15 at around 7 p.m. Authorities were called to the scene and two suspects were arrested.
A third suspect was arrested the next day as police executed a search warrant at a Toronto-area warehouse.
Investigators allege the found a large quantity of stolen property - 659 bronze vases and 16 bronze headstone plaques -- at that location.
Authorities are expected to display the stolen items and update the media on their investigation late Tuesday afternoon.
Similar incidents have been reported in Peel, Durham and Halton regions in various cemeteries, police said.
People who have family and friends buried at the cemeteries are being encouraged by officials to check the gravestone to see if anything is amiss. Those who suspect something was taken from the site should call the local police detachment immediately.
Three Toronto residents - Garry Matchim, 27, Nicholas Moorhouse, 31, and Jing Zhu Chen, 39 -- are facing several charges of theft.
The three suspects are expected back in a Newmarket court in October.
