121-year-old statue of Spanish-American War soldier stolen from cemetery. ‘Wickedness’

A 121-year-old bronze statue of a Spanish-American War soldier has vanished from an Oregon veterans monument, leaving cemetery officials “deeply saddened.”

The statue, part of the River View Cemetery in Portland since 1902, disappeared from its base sometime over the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said on Facebook.

The 5-foot-tall bronze statue of a soldier holding a rifle is estimated to weigh more than 600 pounds, officials told KATU.

“Throughout the years his rifle has been stolen several times and replaced,” administrative assistant Lindsay Smith told the station..”So after they had replaced it, they used a much lighter material, I believe it is plaster, and this was all that was left, was the handle of his rifle. So this is all we have left of our statue”

Cemetery officials said on Facebook they had contacted local authorities.

“This loss is still very fresh and our priority right now is to reach out to our community in the hopes of restoring this memorial to our historic cemetery,” officials said.

They ask anyone with information to contact the cemetery at 503-246-4251 or info@riverviewcemetery.org.

“How would that even be possible? The wickedness of some human beings simply astounds me,” read one comment on the Facebook post.

“This is so sad. Hoping it will be found,” read another comment. A third comment called the theft “sickening.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 4:40 PM with the headline "121-year-old statue of Spanish-American War soldier stolen from cemetery. ‘Wickedness’."