Reported Theft at Columbia County Cemetery Leaves Family Looking for Answers

Theresa Hoffman lost her son Brian in 2010 when he was just 17. Described as funny, smart, and "the light of his mom's life", Brian was just months away from his senior year of high school in Columbia County, NY when a tragic accident occurred. Theresa installed a bench at Brian's gravesite at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Stuyvesant Falls, NY so that loved ones could spend more time with him when visiting. This week she discovered it was missing.

Missing Bench at Columbia County, NY Cemetery

"Hi everyone", her Facebook post began, "as you can see below, I went to visit my son and someone has stolen his bench from his grave.. please share this and be on the lookout. If you hear anything.. call the sheriff's department. I'm filing a report tomorrow. Thank you". The support immediately began to roll in. "I hope the heartless people who felt the need to take this are caught... so sorry" writes a Hudson, NY resident. "I'm sorry Theresa. I hope it's returned. Really awful somebody could do that", wrote another.

There were also reports from other people visiting graves at the same cemetery with similar problems, saying, "I also had something stolen off of my husband's grave in Stuyvesant Falls cemetery... Don't know how anyone can do such things. I'm sure they have loved ones and wouldn't want that done to them".

Help from the Hudson Valley, NY

A bright light of hope in the comment section were the people reaching out to help Theresa. "I have a bench if you can pick up. It was a memorial bench for my garden and I would be happy to know another Mom could use it. It’s not new but I’m happy to share", wrote a thoughtful commenter. Another offered a new replacement, saying, "Please reach out to me if you don’t recover the bench. I would like to help you get a new one."

If you have any information on the bench, you can reach the Columbia County Sherriff's Department here or by calling (518) 828-3344.