There was a sense of peace Wednesday morning when members of
the Auto Theft Task Force returned three granite grave
markers to their proper place in the cemetery.
Carolyn Dawson looks over the layout of the County
Line Cemetery as three stolen headstones from the
1800s were returned to their resting places in
County Line Cemetery Wednesday.
The County Line Cemetery is located behind the County Line
Primitive Baptist Church (est. 1873). The vandalism was the
first the cemetery has experienced, said Carolyn Dawson, the
cemetery association’s secretary-treasurer.
Detective Keith Jones, with the Montgomery County
Sheriff’s Office, cleans a base of one of three
headstones Wednesday.
The ATTF discovered the markers early Saturday when
investigators delved through a storage shed on Cude Cemetery
Road, near Lake Conroe in Montgomery County. Among the items
believed stolen were a dually pickup truck, tools, an ATV, a
utility trailer – and the three grave markers.
“It was a total surprise when we opened the storage shed and
saw the markers,” said Sgt. Kelly Smith, of the ATTF. “At
first, we thought they were props. But when we learned they
were real, it was extremely heart-wrenching.”
While the confiscated vehicles and machinery are valued
around $120,000, the value of the markers is priceless to
the families of those interred in the cemetery, Dawson said.
“We are very appreciative of the effort by the ATTF to
recover the markers,” she said.
ATTF members did more than locate the markers. They brought
all three to their respective locations at the cemetery and
reattached them using commercial bonding.
The reason for taking the headstones is unclear.
The suspect, Justin White, of Conroe, is in the Montgomery
County Jail without bound, ATTF Director David Moore said.
White is charged with three counts of auto theft, a state
jail felony, Smith said. A state jail felony has a
punishable range of 180 days to two years, plus a possible
fine up to $10,000. He has not yet been charged with any
crimes related to the grave markers.
Sergeant Kelley Smith, with the Montgomery County
Sheriff’s Office, and Detective Keith Jones move one
of three headstones as Lt. David Moore looks on
Wednesday.
“Future charges are pending,” Smith said.
“He (White) is a federal parolee, and he’s not talking,”
Moore said.
The search for the missing markers did not
consume much time, thanks to the Internet. A secretary in
the ATTF office tracked down grave markers through the
website
