Lancaster, PA: Police are looking for the thief who dug up Paula Ream‘s remains and coffin and disappeared into the night.
Police said someone went into the Riverview Memorial Cemetery along the 1200 block of South Duke Street in Lancaster late Thursday night or early Friday morning and dug up Paula Ream’s grave.
Paula Ream was only nine years old when she died in August 1962. She was buried in the “Babyland” section of the Riverview Cemetery. Her plot was in the back of the cemetery and was not visible from the road. Paula’s mother and father were later buried next to her. Their graves were left undisturbed.
The caretaker of the cemetery discovered the theft last Friday. Ream’s remains and small coffin were gone. Ream’s grave marker was left on top of the graves of her parents, who were buried next to her.
“There is a lot of different speculation as to why someone would do this, but it’s disturbing is all I can say,” Lancaster Police Department Lt. James Smith said last Saturday. Police said that they have combed the cemetery grounds for evidence and that they have received many tips since their investigation started.
Lancaster County Crimestoppers is offering a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the person(s) responsible for the grave robbery.
If you have any information that could help investigators, you can contact: the Lancaster City Bureau of Police at 717-735-3300 and ask for Detective Sgt. Gary Mackley at (717) 735-3347, or contact the Lancaster City/Lancaster County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-1913. Callers can remain anonymous and do not have to give their names. Read more here.