Thieves, lured by high metal prices, are stealing brass vases from graves

Two men have been arrested for allegedly stealing brass grave vases from cemeteries in Bellevue and SeaTac — the latest twist in what police say is a growing problem of metal theft.

At least 200 vases have been stolen in the past few weeks from Washington Memorial Park in SeaTac and Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue, according to King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart. The 5-pound vases cost about $150 each, he said.

As the price of scrap metal soars, thieves have targeted aluminum freeway guardrails, traffic signs and copper wiring, which they sell to metal recyclers. Construction sites, farms and city transportation departments are among the hardest hit, police said.

According to a metal price list on its Web site, West Seattle Recycling offers up to $1.40 a pound for brass, up to $2.50 a pound for copper, up to $1.50 a pound for insulated copper wire and up to 53 cents a pound for aluminum scrap.

"Metal theft is the crime du jour," Urquhart said, but the theft of funeral vases, used to hold flowers placed at gravesites, is something new.

Catherine Bailey, funeral-home manager at Sunset Hills Memorial Park, said grounds-crew workers noticed the vase thefts several weeks ago. In response, the memorial park has increased security and is replacing the stolen vases.

In an effort to combat the problem, police have notified area recyclers to be on the lookout for thieves who may be trying to sell stolen scrap metal.

Marc Sidell, vice president of Seattle Iron & Metals, and Jonathan Howe, owner of West Seattle Recycling, say they've not seen the stolen vases come through their plants. Sidell said police notified his company about the missing vases last week.

"How low can you go?" Sidell said. "People aren't even safe after they die."

Police say metal recyclers are required by law to write down customers' names, addresses, driver's license numbers and telephone numbers. At Howe's and Sidell's businesses, employees suspicious of the items put before them can refuse the transaction.

"People can make $100 to $200 a day easily," Howe said. "With metal prices so high, it's something we have to be careful about."

Howe and Sidell said they receive notices from Seattle police almost weekly telling them to watch for certain stolen items. Earlier this month, Howe said, he was told to watch for 400 pounds of bronze stolen from a Seattle metal sculptor and for aluminum used in making water skis that was stolen in Lynnwood.

"It's the high price of metal right now," Sidell said. "It's a lot better than getting up in the morning and sitting at a job eight hours a day."

With copper selling at $3 a pound, the highest price ever seen at Sidell's 87-year-old company, thieves are stripping construction sites to get their hands on whatever they can.

John Cochenour, president of Lexington Fine Homes, a luxury-home builder based in Bellevue, said thieves often steal the wires that power construction-site job shacks.

He said thieves stripped copper from a home his company was building in Redmond last summer.

In Snohomish County, thieves stripped 40-pound copper plumbing from several new homes earlier this year, said Snohomish County sheriff's Detective Steve Haley. When construction crews returned to work the following day, water from the ripped-apart toilets and sinks had flooded and caused "tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage," Haley said.

In Pierce County, sheriff's deputies plan to start citing metal recyclers who fail to record customers' driver's-license and license-plate numbers with trafficking in stolen goods, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

A 44-year-old Burien man was arrested Oct. 18 after detectives determined he had sold about 89 vases at metal recyclers around King County, Urquhart said. He was booked into jail on investigation of possession of stolen property but released the next day pending the filing of formal charges.

A 35-year-old Seattle man was arrested Oct. 21 after he allegedly sold at least 55 of the stolen vases, Urquhart said. He also was booked and released but was arrested by Seattle police Friday for investigation of burglary. He is in the King County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail, Urquhart said.

The men's names were not released.

Urquhart said detectives don't know whether the two men were working together. Only about 90 stolen vases have been recovered, he said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com