GREEN BAY, Wis.-- UPDATE: Repairing the vandalized headstones at Fort Howard Memorial Park will cost tens of thousands of dollars, according to cemetery staff.
The goal is to have everything fixed by the end of next week, according to Christine Toson Hentges, President of the Tribute Companies that owns Fort Howard Memorial Park. However, it could take longer as the cemetery will be busy with burials throughout the next week.
The cemetery will take care of all repairs and costs, Toson Hentges said.
That's a welcome relief for families whose loved ones' monuments were damaged.
"It was very heartbreaking, heart wrenching," said Joe Mommaerts, whose grandparents' headstone was knocked over.
He visited the cemetery today with his son Joel and cousin Ellen to visit the grave and assess the damage.
"It's like they're trampling on the souls of our families," Mommaerts said.
Green Bay Police are still looking for whoever committed this crime.
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Managers at the Fort Howard Memorial Park say vandals toppled dozens of headstones overnight. Staff members report finding about 100 monuments damaged at the cemetery.
Staff found the damage around 10 a.m., according to Green Bay Police. Whoever did this could face charges of criminal damage to property, with one count for each headstone damaged, police said.
There has been vandalism at the cemetery before, but not to this extent, according to staff. Police called it a senseless act.
"It took somebody with some pretty good strength to knock those over," said Capt. Kevin Warych with Green Bay Police. "It's not a matter of just walking by the headstone and tipping them over. It's a matter of using some physical force and you intend to do what you're doing by knocking those headstones over."
The damage was in three different areas in Fort Howard Memorial Park. Police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
