Newcastle Cemetery Trustee Edmee Dejean confronted two men with metal detectors digging on and around gravesites at Pine Knoll Cemetery in Newcastle on Saturday, Sept. 11.
According to Dejean’s description of the incident in an e-mail to Town Administrator Ron Grenier, she received a call Saturday afternoon from a man who, while visiting a family gravesite, spotted the men “digging on top of the grave of Mildred Dinsmore where they uncovered/dug up a flat aluminum object and… digging in other areas of the cemetery.”
Jonas Bourgoin, one of the men Dejean identified in the e-mail, said the issue was “taken out of context.”
According to her e-mail, Dejean drove to the cemetery and spoke with the men. Dejean told the men she didn’t know if the digging was legal, but she had personal, moral concerns about their actions.
According to her e-mail, the men admitted to “digging on top of graves” and produced “numerous copper-colored coins” from their excavations. Dejean asked the men to stop digging and they left shortly thereafter, she wrote.
“It’s a hobby,” Bourgoin said in a Sept. 14 phone interview. Bourgoin and the other man use metal detectors to find coins. The men collect the coins and occasionally stumble on something more valuable. Bourgoin said he found a gold bracelet worth about $1,000 “in front of a church up north” this spring.
The men don’t just dig at cemeteries, but at various sites around the state. Bourgoin acknowledged Dejean’s concern. “It’s a touchy thing,” Bourgoin said. “We understand the concept of a cemetery… we try to leave things undisturbed.”
“We’re digging between 3-4 inches in the ground,” Bourgoin said. “I think maybe [Dejean] had it in her mind that we were exhuming bodies.”
In a Sept. 14 phone interview, town attorney Peter Drum said he was researching the issue. “It’s not specifically a cemetery law,” Drum said, but because of the age of the cemetery, “there are archaeological implications to what they’re doing.”
Drum said he had contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the office of the District Attorney, both of whom will also research the issue.
Drum also said he will advise the town to consider an ordinance to bar such activities in the future.
District Attorney Geoff Rushlau’s office declined comment for this article.
Major Ken Mason at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said he doesn’t think it’s legal to dig in the cemetery because it’s town property. Mason said he was unsure, however, and would have to consult with the District Attorney.
Dejean did not return a message seeking further comment.
