MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — It’s been a year since someone used the cover of night to walk into the Ft. Snelling National Cemetery and desecrate a grave, which belonged to a World War 2 veteran laid to rest more than 40 years ago.
Now, investigators are looking for the public’s help in ending this family’s suffering.
Meanwhile, the family of Edward Redhead is still in pain and believes someone out there knows why his grave was disturbed.
“My family has a lot of respect for the cemetery itself and the veterans and when something like this happens, it’s upsetting,” Edward Redhead’s son, Chris, said.
Last year, workers inside Ft. Snelling’s National Cemetery discovered the disturbed grave. Family members were called and Chris Redhead remembers what stood out most when he arrived.
“The people who did this apparently knew exactly where to dig and they used equipment that was here on site. I guess and they lifted the top off the vault and that is no easy task,” Chris Redhead said.
Veterans Affairs did supply a new vault, headstone and military burial for Edward Redhead’s remains after the grave was disturbed. They are letting the Sheriff’s office take the lead in the investigation.
Investigators hope something left behind in the cemetery will be the clue they need to solve the case.
“At that time we recovered very near the grave a three-inch bladed knife with the words ‘Wally’ inscribed on it very crudely,” Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek said.
There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. If you know anything please call the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office.
They did and the family says they are thankful the VA put in lights, cameras and increased security.
They also lock the big gate at night, something that wasn’t done when Redhead’s grave was disturbed.
