Can you imagine leaving flowers on your loved one’s gravesite only to have someone steal them the next day?

Putting flowers on gravesites in cemeteries is a tradition that archeologists say has been around for thousands of years. Why are flowers so common in cemeteries, and why do families bring them to their loved ones?

Well, families often bring flowers to the cemetery primarily for sentimental reasons. Flowers are a tangible way of showing love and respect to the person that they have lost. Leaving them at a grave is like leaving a tribute to a loved one. If the deceased had a favorite flower, family members sometimes bring that flower to the cemetery as a way of honoring their loved one’s memory. Families sometimes choose to bring flowers on holidays and birthdays as a way of demonstrating that their lost loved ones remain in their hearts and are still a part of these special occasions.

For many families, tending to the gravesite is an important way of showing love and respect. Flowers are another way to make a gravesite look cared-for and more aesthetically pleasing.

Imagine the feeling of returning the next day after leaving flowers for a lost loved one and seeing that they are now missing?

One such incident was caught on camera at a cemetery in Ohio. A woman noticed that the flower pot she had given to her dad on Father’s Day in 1977 was gone. The pot itself wasn’t expensive or overly significant, but the sentimentality of it was.

The woman didn’t know how to get it back, so she turned to the police. With the help of a surveillance camera, they were lucky enough to solve the mystery. Footage from the camera depicted a black car driving up to the cemetery. Two women then get out and head straight for a tombstone and proceed to take things from it.

The women, both in their 60’s, would later be identified and charged with theft. The most incredible thing about it all? One of the women was an elected official within the municipality.