BURNABY, B.C. - Burnaby RCMP are investigating a series of thefts in which several hundred bronze vases have been stolen from gravesites at local cemeteries over the past several months, a crime police say represents potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, and they have set up a dedicated tip line to catch whoever is responsible.
“Burnaby RCMP is investigating a series of thefts involving bronze gravesite vases from local cemeteries, potentially representing hundreds of thousands of dollars of loss,” the detachment said in a release Wednesday. “Over the past several months, it is believed that several hundred bronze gravesite vases have been stolen from local cemeteries.”
Police say the exact number of vases taken is unknown, for a sad reason: the thefts are typically only discovered when loved ones visit a gravesite and find the vase, and the flowers it held, gone. The release does not name the cemeteries involved, refers only to local cemeteries in Burnaby, and gives no suspect description.
Some of the vases are worth more than $1,000 each. “The monetary value, while high, pales in comparison to the sentimental value these items hold for grieving families,” said Cpl. Mike Kalanj of the Burnaby RCMP. “Stealing from a final resting place is a disgusting act that causes significant emotional distress to those already dealing with loss. We are committed to identifying those responsible.”
Why these vases, and why it hits families hard
Bronze gravesite vases are the small, heavy vases set into or beside flat grave markers to hold flowers left by families. They are targeted for two reasons: bronze is a valuable scrap metal, and the vases are expensive memorial items in their own right, so families face a real replacement cost on top of the distress of finding a loved one’s grave disturbed. A theft discovered during a visit, often on a birthday, an anniversary or a remembrance day, lands as a second loss.
Because the count depends on families noticing and reporting, police believe the true number may only emerge as more people check. Anyone whose family has a plot in a Burnaby cemetery is effectively being asked to look: if the vase on your family marker is missing, that report helps investigators map how wide the thefts range and when they happened.
How to report
Burnaby RCMP have set up a dedicated phone line for this investigation at 604-646-9911, and tips can also be emailed to E_Burnaby_CemeteryTheft_Tips@rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Police have released photos showing what is being taken and what is left behind: markers with their bronze vases and flowers intact, and the empty socket where a vase used to sit.
Surrey families are part of this story too. Metro Vancouver families are spread across the region’s cemeteries, and many Surrey households have parents and grandparents buried in Burnaby. If that includes your family, a quiet check on the marker the next time you visit, and a call to the tip line if the vase is gone, is the most useful step you can take. Anyone who sees someone removing vases or acting suspiciously in a cemetery should call police rather than intervening.
Source: Burnaby RCMP, “Burnaby RCMP investigating series of vase thefts from gravesites, set up tip line,” October 28, 2026.
