PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Beach County woman said precious mementos placed on her grandparents' gravesites were brushed to the side and piled up against a fence.
It happened at the Lake Worth Memory Gardens cemetery along Kirk Road.
Carina Neddo said she was shocked to see that the items her family placed on her loved one's headstone had been tossed aside.
She and her family visit the graves weekly but were shocked by what they saw during a recent visit.
"We found that my grandparents' things — personal mementos that we had placed on the grave — were removed without our permission or notification from the cemetery," Neddo said.
She said her family's mementos were very personal.
"There were special plaques that were bought in Ireland, where my grandpa is from, as well as a brass flag holder that showed that my grandpa was in the National Guard and that was missing," Neddo said.
She later learned that many of the items were set aside in a back corner of the cemetery.
Neddo shared with WPTV photos that show that family pictures, statues, flags and flowers were scattered along a fence.
She said she can't find several of the mementos.
"Immediately I felt sad," Neddo said. "I saw a laminated sheet with something that said, 'Best Dad Ever,' and pictures of a man with children, and it was just thrown there in the dirt."
Neddo contacted the cemetery, who apologized to her in an email and offered to reimburse her and her family for the lost items.
They explained that clearing headstones and plots is part of their policy after Christmas, and they recommend people not place personal items on grave sites.
WPTV contacted the cemetery Friday evening but is still awaiting a response.
"I felt it was disrespectful to the people who have already passed away and are buried here," Neddo said.
Neddo said while she is grateful for the apology she hopes the cemetery will be more transparent about their policy.
"Maybe next time if they are going to do this, if they could just put some notification up," Neddo said.