STAFF REPORTS

A $1,000 cash reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of vandals who desecrated the historic Kyle cemetery in June, authorities say.

While paying respects to a family member who had recently passed away, a cemetery visitor discovered several headstones, many dating back to the mid-1800s, lying on the ground on June 26, according to the Hays County Crime Stoppers.

At least 33 gravesites were found to be vandalized, including those of the grandparents of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Katherine Anne Porter, confederate soldiers Charles Word and Major Edward Burleson, members of the Kyle, Groos and Whisenant families, and Ed Green, a prominent San Marcos politician and great-grandfather of actor Robert Redford, Kyle Cemetery Association President Jane Kirkham said.

On Tuesday, the Crime Stoppers office announced that investigators have no leads in the case yet and need public assistance to apprehend the suspects in the felony vandalism case.

Anybody who has information that could help authorities solve the case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-324-TIPS (8477). All calls are confidential and callers will remain anonymous. A caller does not have to give their name or testify in court, a release says.

The Kyle Cemetery, the oldest community cemetery still in use in Hays County and maintained by a volunteer committee, has been targeted by vandals two other times in the last 15 years.

Cemetery organizers have said that the damage will run several thousand dollars. Currently, because of disputes over historic land boundaries, the cemetery is not able to sell plots and has almost no disposable income, Kirkham said.

Donations to the cemetery can be mailed to PO Box 712, Kyle, TX 78640.