LONGMONT — Vandals tipped over 106 headstones at Longmont’s Mountain View cemetery on Saturday and knocked a granite Civil War memorial statue from its base, broke it into pieces and stole its head.

Tracey George, who manages the cemetery for the nonprofit board that runs it, said it appears at least two vandals have struck the cemetery on four occasions since July 6. The first time they tipped eight headstones from bases; the second time, 20 were tipped. She said they did not report the first two incidents to police. Then on July 31, the vandals tipped over 51 headstones, which cemetery employees were able to return to bases quickly. The incident was reported to police.

Sometime on Saturday morning after a private security company patrolled at about 12:15 a.m., vandals returned and tipped 106 headstones, including a couple weighing up to two tons.

The Civil War memorial statue donated to cemetery in 1907 was pulled from its base. The statue’s fall broke the base, both legs of the soldier above the ankle and the rifle that also attached the figure to the base. Its head, which broke off at the neck, was dug out of the impression it left in the ground and is missing.

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George estimated that the granite head with its hat would have weighed well over 100 pounds and worries that replacing the statue will cost in the neighborhood of $20,000.

“I think that is the thing that makes me the sickest,” she said of the damaged statue, which served as a focal point for annual Memorial Day remembrances.

The vandals left footprints on some of the headstones and scuffs and other evidence on the base of the statue.

George said some of the headstones sustained minor damage — chips and cracks. Mostly, she said, it is laborious to replace the stones and it upsets families when they visit.

“Everybody around here has somebody in here,” she said.

The cemetery is not completely fenced or gated. She said the board will likely discuss that possibility given the spate of vandalism.

Board secretary Anton Dworak, whose family headstone was tipped, said he has always been opposed to fencing the cemetery. However, now he is considering it.

“I think we might have to,” he said.

Having the family headstone damaged feels like a violation, he said.

Dworak said he wonders if the vandals are kids who have never mourned the loss of a close friend or family member. If the vandals are adults, he said, he cannot imagine any kind of motivation to attack the cemetery. The board has already hired private security and asked police to step up nighttime checks.

George said she hopes someone will know who has been vandalizing the cemetery and help police track them down. She also hopes neighbors and passers-by will keep an eye on the historic cemetery, which dates back to 1876.

Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or at pshields@times-call.com.