[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 12/07/20]
MOUNT DORA, Florida — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after multiple graves were disturbed and remains were stolen from a local cemetery, according to Lt. John Herrell.
LCSO responded to Edgewood Cemetery, 3333 Britt Road in unincorporated Mount Dora Sunday afternoon after they received a vandalism complaint. A woman and her daughter were driving northbound down Britt Road when they noticed a disrupted tombstone and went into the cemetery and found two other graves vandalized and called LCSO, according to a report.
Deputies responded and discovered four graves had been accessed, along with an attempt to access a fifth one, Herrell said in a press release.
“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. Detectives also found that there were missing remains from the four graves that had been accessed,” Herrell said.
A Mount Dora Police officer told deputies as she drove down Britt Road around 8:20 a.m., she noticed a pop-up tent halfway erect, but did not notice anything else out of the ordinary, the report states. A representative of the cemetery told LCSO a funeral was held at the cemetery Saturday and the burial equipment was removed around 3 p.m. the same day. The tents used by cemetery staff are larger than pop-up tents, he told LCSO.
Crews were working Monday to repair the graves.
LCSO is asking anyone who may have noticed suspicious vehicles or activity in the area to call them at 352-343-2101.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
