ROBERTSDALE, Ala. (WKRG) — Visiting a loved one’s grave is hard enough, but thieves have made it even more difficult for a Robertsdale woman. Police said someone stole a bench that sat next to her late husband’s grave, a bench given to her by his children.
“He loved horses, you never seen him without a smile.” James Hill died in May of 2024. “He’s been gone a little over 18 months, going on 18 months,” said his widow, Sue.
Gulf Shores City Schools introduces new comfort dog to staff
She routinely visits his final resting place at Baldwin Memorial Cemetery just off U.S. Highway 90 in Robertsdale. “I have good days and bad days. I try not to let anybody see me cry. You see me out and you think I’m fine, but at home,” her voice trailing off, “It’s still hard.”
As usual, last Sunday, she came for a visit after church, and immediately she realized a bench his children had made for her to sit on by the grave was gone.
“It’s got sentimental value for his children doing it for me and for his children that worked on it,” she said.
She asked the groundskeepers if they had seen or moved it, but they hadn’t. After searching the cemetery, she called the police.
“To someone who doesn’t know the story behind it, it is just a normal bench, but it is special to our victim,” said Robertsdale Police Lt. Paul Overstreet. They have checked scrap metal yards, third-party seller databases, and so far, have had no luck…