Families continue to find plaques missing from memorial benches

A second family in less than a week has reported having a memorial plaque stolen from a bench in Riverside Park. 

Less than a day after CambridgeToday reported about plaques being stolen in Cambridge, family members have started to check in on their memorials to make sure they're still there. 

Unfortunately for Brenda Milley, her late father's plaque had also been taken, ripped off a bench in one of his favourite places in the park. 

"I was visiting our dad's memorial bench at Riverside Park this morning and unfortunately his memorial plaque was also removed from his bench," said Milley. 

Milley immediately took a picture and notified her sister in British Columbia, as she had ordered plaque. She started seeing more local news about families who had their memorials robbed and knew she had to say something. 

"My dad used to watch all my sister's baseball games at back diamonds," she added. "We had his bench put under the big willow tree, facing the outfield diamond."

The City of Cambridge confirms that this is a recent occurrence, only having five plaques reported stolen since 2020. 

Michael Hausser, director of operations for infrastructure services said to CambridgeToday in an email that the city will replace damaged or stolen plaques within the 10-year-term of an agreement with families and will cover the cost.

They have currently paused their memorial bench program for this season as their suppliers will not be able to make any further deliveries.

A review of the program is currently underway to update the process and costs for the 2024 season.  

If a family member is looking to create a safe space to remember a loved one, it will cost them around $4,500. 

The benches alone are $2,250, the concrete pad installation ranges depending on the location and is typically about $2,000. The plaques that seem to be a high target cost approximately $300.

Hausser notes that the city is in talks with their supplier to look at alternate mounting options so the plaques are not as easy to steal. 

Gail Clemmes who first reported her father's plaque being stolen wants to see them welded onto the benches. 

"I don't know who is giving them money for these things, I blame the scrappers," said Clemmens. 

Bronze plaques have been high value targets and Cambridge is not the only city dealing with memorial related thefts. 

In Nov. 2022, the Catholic Diocese in London Ont. reported over 40 bronze vases and a number of plaques were pried from their resting places. 

Shortly after the robbery, police were notified by a local scrap yard who helped identify a man they would later arrest for trying to sell the stolen property. 

Cambridge based metal recycler Gerdau Steel told CambridgeToday they will not buy memorial plaques or other items they could identify as stolen. 

"We need proper ID from our customers, or else we won't buy it," said Nathan from Gerdau Steel. 

News of the stolen plaques quickly started to make the rounds on social media on Tuesday. Residents on walks through the park noticed even more of the metal plates being stolen from their benches. 

"We saw three benches today at Riverside Park that are missing their memorial plates. So if one of your family members or friends had one you should check to make sure they still have them," wrote Catherine Lee in a Facebook post. "This is a sin." 

While some where upset and questioning if their family members memorial site was safe, others were asking where are the thieves selling the metal too? 

"My issue is also what kind people at these scrap places are accepting these plaques for money! Shame on them also! Sick world we are living in," wrote an upset resident. 

"Who would ever have thought our society could reach these kinds of depths," wrote another. 

These memorials are often set up in special places to a family. In Clemmens' case, where her father would fish with his grandchildren and Milley, where her dad would watch his daughter's baseball games. 

The families affected are losing more than just a piece of metal, but piece of mind that their loved ones special places have been vandalized. 

"This is just terrible," said Milley.