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Police offer reward to find suspect accused of vandalizing historic High Country cemetery

BANNER ELK, N.C. — Police said they are offering a reward to find the suspect accused of vandalizing a historic cemetery in the North Carolina High Country. Police believe the damages are in the thousands of dollars.

Officials said the Banner Elk Cemetery dates back to the 1800s and some of the people buried there helped found the town.

Police showed Channel 9 where someone stuck one of the gravesites so hard, the headstone will have to be replaced. Others in the cemetery were either knocked over or broken in half.

"It's hard to put a price on the history that was damaged. There's no repairing some of these older headstones that were damaged," Banner Elk Police Chief Kevin Hodges said.

Resident Elsie Beasley said most of her family, dating back generations, is buried in the cemetery.

She said her husband served in World War II and she can't imagine why someone would target a cemetery that means so much to the community.

"Great great grandparents, my grandparents, my parents," Beasley said. "Somebody not in their right mind. There's no point in it, no enemy. I don't understand it."

Police said they are offering a reward through High Country Crime Stoppers. One of the grave toppled is that of a 6-month-old who died in the area.

"I'm just appalled. I've never known that a person would live around here that would have such an instinct to do this to a historical cemetery," resident Deka Tate said.

Police told Channel 9's Dave Faherty they are planning to step up patrols around the cemetery.