Rash of memorial plaque thefts, vandalism plague Westport

Dating back to last fall, 14 memorial plaques have been stolen from benches and stone pedestals along the trail system in Westport, including 13 in Westport Light State Park.

Washington State Parks has been responsible for that portion of the trail system since 2016.

According to Westport Mayor Ed Welter, the Westport Police Department is engaged in an active investigation into the thefts and vandalism and believes the predominantly bronze plaques are being sold for scrap.

“The ones we’re talking about are on that beach trail that goes from Ocean Avenue to the lighthouse and that is all State Parks property. It looks like they’ve been getting pried off. I don’t know what State Parks has been doing about it. State Parks has their own law enforcement capabilities, they have rangers assigned to these areas,” Welter said. ”If I had to guess, I would say that they’re probably getting scrapped, so there is some hope that we’ll be able to identify who’s doing this. If the officers can go to the scrap yards and identify a piece that is identifiable from one of the memorials then they can trace it back through the payment receipts or surveillance footage from the scrap yard. There’s some hope there.”

According to Welter, the terrain in the area and the lack of proper staffing make it difficult to spot ne’er-do-wells.

“People know that that is a large breadth of property but is very loosely controlled if patrolled at all and in the summertime, they know they can get away with setting up shop there,” Welter said. “You’ll end up with these transient camps. It happens every year. The fact that we’re having vandalism on the trail is indicative of a group of people that will do those kinds of things.”

Welter said that the memorial plaques are important to the families and the thefts are extremely upsetting. One particular memorial resonated with Welter personally and featured lines from an Alfred Lord Tennyson poem.

“It’s frustrating. Those plaques are really important, they’re important to a lot of people. There was one that I used to stop and read all the time. It said, ‘Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea,’ and it was obviously a very meaningful poem. That was written and put there to commemorate a family member who had been a lifelong fisherman or sailor. It’s really sad, it makes me angry to see it done.”

Washington State Parks issued the following statement: “We are aware of these thefts, and our ranger has completed incident reports. Vandalism and property damage are an unfortunate part of managing public property. There are no formal next steps. If the public has information regarding these incidents, we encourage them to contact Grayland Beach State Park at 360-267-4301.”

Welter is also encouraging people to contact the authorities if they spot suspicious activity.

“If you see something suspicious in the State Park, call the non-emergency number (360- 533-8765). If it’s an emergency call 9-1-1. Dispatch has the ability to contact State Parks and notify their ranger.”