Body stolen from mausoleum by grave robbers

When you spend tens of thousands of dollars to have your loved ones interred, you probably don't expect that years later grave robbers will plunder the mausoleum.

But that's what happened on Long Island, where police are searching for thieves who vandalized three crypts at St. Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale before stealing the body of a woman interred in one of the mausoleums.

The woman had been laid to rest in one of the small, locked mausoleums 12 years ago. Suffolk County police say the thieves didn't target specific crypts during the theft, which occurred between late Monday and early Tuesday morning. Police say the body was likely transported in a car parked on a nearby road and that there was likely more than one thief.

Police are unsure of a motive and declined to name the deceased woman.

The average funeral costs around $6500 but costs can easily top $10,000 or more.