Police say someone is hitting golf balls into the Elm Springs Cemetery that has headstones dating back to the 1800s.

ELM SPRINGS, Ark. — Police say someone is hitting golf balls into the Elm Springs Cemetery that has headstones dating back to the 1800s.

"I would hate to think the damage it would cause, either chipping it or completely breaking a tombstone," Pat Ashbaugh said.

Pat Ashbaugh, a member of the Washington County Cemetery Preservation Group and found several golf balls earlier this week. She says this isn't the first time this has happened.

"The Elm Springs Cemetery is just real dear to my heart because it is so old. I go out there and clean tombstones, and I also work on repairing and leveling them," she said.

So far, she doesn't think the golf balls have done any damage.

"There are some chips on some of the tombstones, but I'm not sure if it's from golf balls or from wear and tear because the tombstones are well over 100 years old," she said.

Chief Jason Hiatt says when they found golf balls in the cemetery last fall, they put extra patrols on the area but still didn't catch anyone doing it.

"It could be somebody going out there doing it, or it could be someone living in the vicinity of it that are you know smacking them off their own property and just sending them that way," he said.

Hiatt says the way they have been dispersed, it's hard to tell which direction they are coming from. There is a lot of open area around the cemetery with houses on it.

"We put a Facebook post, and we really hope whoever is doing it, they aren't considering what they are doing, or it's a child of theirs doing it or something, and they'll put a stop to it," he said.

Chief Hiatt says if someone is caught hitting golf balls into this cemetery, they could face littering to criminal mischief charges if there is damage. He says if this continues, they will put up cameras and increase patrols of the area.