Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
The remains of two people were stolen from a mausoleum at a Luzerne County cemetery earlier this month. Police in Plains Township said that the remains of two people were taken from their crypts at Good Shepherd Memorial Mausoleum in Plains Township some time between Nov. 1-6. The identities of the stolen bodies were not available at the time of this report. According to WBRE/WYOU, the cemetery and mausoleum have been in an increasing state of disrepair since it was purchased about 20 years ago. Co-owner Viktoria Evstafieva told the news outlet in 2006 that they did not know they were buying a cemetery during a 2005 tax sale. “We did not purchase the business part of it. We did not intend to continue this place as a cemetery,” she said at the time. The new owners then sued the county but lost. Since then, WBRE/WYOU said they have have not maintained it and that the mausoleum’s roof is collapsing, and vandals have smashed windows. The township boarded up the mausoleum after the theft. “The township needs to step up. Somebody needs to step up in authority and do something about this. This is wrong to steal a body. I mean, this is not right, it’s awful,” Denise Kumor, who removed her parents’ remains from the site last year, said to the outlet. Plains Township Commissioner Tom Shubilla, however, said there is little they can do and that the responsibility lies with the owners. Anyone with information about the theft should call Plains Township Police at 570-829-3432, or message them on their Facebook page.
