BARTLETT, Tenn. — A Shelby County woman says someone broke into her car while she and her sister were visiting their father’s grave.
Alesia Porter says it happened Thursday afternoon at Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens in Bartlett.
“It was just kind of unbelievable,” Porter said.
She says they were roughly 40 yards from their car, which was unlocked. She also says nobody else was around but when they got back to the car they made a shocking discovery.
“My sister says, ‘Did I leave my purse at home?’ because I picked her up and I said, wait a minute, where’s my purse?” Porter said. “And then we went, oh gosh.”
And it seems to have happened in a mysterious fashion.
“We didn’t hear anything,” Porter said. “We didn’t see anything. It’s really strange.”
According to Porter, it’s not the first time it’s happened at the cemetery. She says management told her there’ve been several other cases and some were during funeral services. Porter also claims the facility lacks adequate security.
“They didn’t have any cameras back there,” Porter said. “They don’t have security. They don’t have anything, anything on the back side.”
WREG called the office and asked about Porter’s concerns but no one called us back.
“We’re not going back out there until something’s done,” Porter said.
She hopes whoever broke into her car is caught soon.
“That’s just a low,” Porter said. “That’s just a low for someone to come and steal from people who are there in memory of their loved ones. There are no words for that for me.”
WREG asked Bartlett police if they’re investigating a string of break-ins at the cemetery and if so, are they increasing patrols in the area. They told us they couldn’t answer those questions Friday night.