ORLANDO, Fla. — Detectives are investigating after discovering that someone stole remains from four graves that were found vandalized at Edgewood Cemetery in Mount Dora on Sunday, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said.
In a statement, agency spokesman Lt. John Herrell said someone had gained access to the four graves and tried to access a fifth. Crews were working Monday to repair the damage to the graves.
"Detectives and crime scene investigators responded to the scene and began the investigation and found evidence that suggests that this incident is very likely tied to some form of ritualistic activity," Herrell said.
According to an incident report, deputies were called to the cemetery about 3:20 p.m. Sunday by a passer-by who had noticed a damaged tombstone while driving by.
A responding deputy determined that four gravesites had been disturbed. The concrete lids of two of the graves had been broken into pieces and the caskets were pried open, the report said.
Neighbors said they did not hear any loud noises and noted there had been a funeral at the cemetery on Saturday.
A Mount Dora police officer also reported having seen a half-erect "white pop-up tent" in the cemetery Sunday morning, the report said.
The owner of the cemetery said equipment for Saturday's funeral would have been removed that afternoon, and that the tents used by the cemetery are larger than the pop-up kind the officer described.
The report did not make clear whose remains were disturbed by the vandals or why detectives believe the crime was related to ritualistic activity. Some details were redacted from the report by LCSO.
