Stolen gravestone vases found in Mpls.

More than 100 gravestone vases stolen from Twin Cities cemeteries were found Thursday night in a riverfront park in Minneapolis.

Two people reported seeing suspicious containers sitting in the parking lot of the Camden boat launch along the Mississippi River. Minneapolis Park Police opened the boxes and found bronze vases that were removed from headstones at three cemeteries in recent weeks. Police think the thieves hoped to sell the vases that are made of valuable copper to scrap-metal companies.

Lt. Robert Goodsell says the thieves got rid of the vases probably because they found out they would raise suspicion from the scrap dealers. Several media outlets reported on the thefts.

"Even for small amounts of copper, you have to leave your drivers license. And there's so much of it going on," he said. "The scrap metal companies are working closely with the police departments and helping identify people who are doing a lot of scrapping."

The park police turned over the vases to the Minneapolis police crime lab to be tested for evidence.