Grieving Sudbury mother frustrated by ongoing graveside thefts

Vicky Bourgeois lost her 20-year-old son, Tyler, on March 7, 2020, in a tragic snowmobiling accident that involved an impaired driver.

Tyler Christine-Bourgeouis, 20, of Azilda (Supplied)

When looking for his final resting place, she said the Civic Memorial Cemetery on Second Avenue in Sudbury was the perfect fit, as it is secluded and surrounded by nature.

"This space means everything to my family. I come out here before work, after work. My daughter and my grandchildren come out and they have picnics," Bourgeois said.

Unfortunately, over the last two years, she said the plot and others nearby have been subject to multiple thefts.

"I’ve had plants stolen. I’ve had solar lights stolen. I’ve had a lot stolen and so now, unfortunately, we are forced to buy things from the 'dollar store' because they’re just getting stolen," she said.  

Bourgeois said she contacted CTV News as she feels everyone she and her daughter have reached out to about the issue told them it's not their problem to solve.

"She’s actually called the city on multiple times and complained. She’s actually written to parliament. We have called the mayor. I have not received a call back from the mayor. I did talk to the city councillor for Ward 8, which is Mr. Sizer," she added.

Sizer said he has a connection with the cemetery, not only having loved ones laid to rest there, but also having been the manager of the site for 15 years.

He said now that he knows about the thefts, he will be bringing it to city council.

"It is something that we will be looking at, as this has been brought forward to me now. It’s been an issue with that fence for a number of years and now it is time to look at a different solution to see what we can do to resolve the problem," the city councillor said.

"We are pushing to have stronger reinforced fences for the back and the side so that this can’t happen anymore so that the theft will hopefully subside a little bit."  

In the meantime, Bourgeois said she has installed trail cameras to monitor the gravesite when she is not there and hopes to have motion-censored lights as well in the near future.

The grieving mother said she will stop at nothing until the issue is resolved and has even started a GoFundMe campaign to try and cover the cost of the fence replacement. Her goal is to raise $50,000.