SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft of a unique grave marker that was removed from a local cemetery.
According to investigators, the missing marker is a statue depicting an angel crouched with its face resting between its knees, symbolizing grief. The statue features large wings extending upward from its back and stands about knee-high.
The grave marker is modeled after “The Angel of Grief Weeping over the Dismantled Altar of Life,” a sculpture created in 1894. Deputies said the age and value of the stolen replica are unknown.
The statue served as a marker for a gravesite. Investigators are now working to determine how long it had been at the cemetery and whether surviving relatives or others may have information about its history.
Anyone with information about the theft or the statue’s whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Ashley McCaig at 352-569-1621 or AMccaig@sumtercountysheriff.org. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).
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