A grieving family is furious after vandals destroyed a young mother’s gravestone.
Sariah Rose’s family visited her grave at Gungahlin Cemetery in Canberra’s north on Monday, what would have been her 32nd birthday.
Her gravestone was adorned with a large pink quartz in memory of Mrs. Rose, who died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 27.
When Mrs. Rose’s family arrived at the grave, the precious gemstone was missing and the granite grave slab had been removed from its plinth.
Police suspect that vandalism occurred sometime between Sunday and Monday afternoon. Several incidents were also reported around the same time.
At about the same time, another gravestone with two gold-plated hands was stolen from a grave, while a woman reported her phone stolen.
Police were also told that a man had been seen attempting to break into a car nearby, before fleeing in a white SUV with two other men.
The incident has left Ms Rose’s family ‘devastated’ and sparked outrage on social media, with many calling on the vandal to return the stone.
The family of a mother who died of cancer, Sariah Rose, 28, are furious after a vandal destroyed her gravestone on what would have been her 32nd birthday (pictured)
Mrs Rose’s family also expressed their anger after her son and his father saw the damage on Monday.
“It’s quite shocking and unbelievable that someone would do this, and on her birthday,” one family member wrote.
‘Whoever you are…you did something terrible and broke many hearts.
“How do we replace this? When it was created and born out of so much pain and sorrow.”
One of Ms Rose’s friends wrote on Facebook that the site had been ‘damaged and desecrated’ after they had visited the day before to clean up the area for the family.
“You are a heartless, shameless, and worthless person,” the friend said.
The vandal made off with a large quartz (pictured) that had been left on the gravestone in memory of the mother
“You have broken the hearts of a family who will never stop grieving. The worst part is that Sariah’s little boy is completely devastated.
‘He went there this morning to visit his mother and found that you had committed the same act.
“This has to come back. This has to be undone.”
The missing quartz stone is 30-35 cm high and has a circumference of 40 cm.
Australian Capital Territory police have launched a manhunt to find three men seen at the cemetery on Monday, and have also appealed for information about other incidents that day.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police.