Residents in Adams, Massachusetts, were outraged after several flags went missing from veterans’ graves at a local cemetery.
Community members reported the incident to police and spread the word on social media to be on the lookout for the vandals.
After days of searching, they found the cause of the vandalism but it wasn’t your typical thief. In fact, they weren’t even human.
It turns out woodchucks had been stealing the flags and hiding them in their burrows.
Residents in Adams, Massachusetts, were outraged after several flags went missing from veterans graves at a local cemetery
It turns out woodchucks had been stealing the flags and hiding them in their burrows. A community member remembered a similar event occurring in Hudson, NY, in 2012 (pictured)
Adams resident Mark Paquette told News10 he was watering flowers at Bellevue Cemetery last week when he saw broken flag poles on the ground.
At the bottom of a hill, he saw that flags were missing from all the veterans’ graves, with the poles either left in their holders or broken and discarded on the ground.
‘Who would do something like this? And what would they be doing with the flags?’ Paquette said.
‘I was concerned that it was vandalism.’
Paquette, who is a Vietnam War veteran himself, reported the incident to grounds workers, who replaced the flags.
However, just a few days later, the flags were missing again – and strewn all over the cemetery.
‘I walked up on the top of the hill here and I saw every one was broken and down,’ Paquette said.
This time, Paquette and his wife Charmaine reported it to police and asked social media for help in tracking down the vandals.
Flags were missing from all the veterans’ graves, with the poles either left in their holders or broken and discarded on the ground.
Holes were found around the cemetery surrounded with flowers, dirt and flag pieces, leading to the discovery that the thieves were woodchucks
‘Right away there was a response. People coming up to help,’ Paquette said.
Not long afterwards, he found a hole surrounded with flowers, dirt and flag pieces. Another hole was found down the hill.
That’s when a resident remembered a news story from 2012 about woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, stealing flags from a cemetery in Hudson, New York.
Then, on Tuesday, a woman finally saw it occur with her own eyes at Bellevue.
‘They saw the woodchuck jump up on a flag and pull it right out of the holder,’ Mark said.
The Paquettes say that they’re thankful it wasn’t a cruel act of vandalism.
‘I’m glad to see that the veterans are respected the way they are,’ Mark said.