Wathena residents concerned after cemetery memorial items are found discarded in ditch

WATHENA, Kan. (KQTV) -- Community members are concerned about the state of the Bellemont Cemetery after visitors noticed their prized possessions were missing and thrown in a ditch.

Family and friends gathered to visit their loved ones' graves over the weekend to find decorations missing.

A community member who asked to remain anonymous mentioned how beautiful the cemetery used to look.

"You used to be able to drive around the cemetery, and you could tell whose birthday had just passed, what holidays were coming up. I remember visiting over Christmas, and there would be a line of cars just looking at all the decorations," she said.

After some searching, the tokens left at some of the graves were found on the cemetery's tree line, thrown into a pile. Some of the items were found broken.

"The worst part was that there was no warning; instead, you had to come out here to find out that your items had been moved," the community member said.

Community members have posted their concerns online about the incident and are encouraging anyone with have items at the cemetery to go retrieve them before they are thrown away.

KQ2 reached out to City leaders to learn more about the cemetery.