800 vases taken from Toronto cemetery

TORONTO, May 23 (UPI) -- Police say about 800 bronze vases stolen from their tombstone mounts at a Toronto cemetery were taken to be sold for scrap metal.

Police Detective Robert Gallant said the theft is likely part of a larger string of metal thefts, the Toronto Star reported Wednesday.

"My understanding is that it's a problem throughout the city," he said.

Bronze currently fetches about $2.50 a pound from scrap metal dealers.

Police have arrested a 77-year-old suspect whose wife is interred in the cemetery. They said the man, whose name was not released, had 60 of the stolen vases in his car.

"It's unbelievable that somebody would do something like this and certainly we regret that the families who have their loved ones there have to go through this kind of upset," said Gary Carmichael, vice-president of government and corporate affairs for Memorial Gardens Canada, which owns Glendale Memorial Gardens.

He said the cemetery is currently in negotiations to replace the stolen vases.