$3,000 reward offered for arrest in historic church vandalism

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LANCASTER, SC (WIS) - As much as $3,000 could be rewarded for information that leads to an arrest for vandalism at an historic Lancaster County church in August.

Crimestoppers says the Lancaster Society for Historical Preservation is offering a $500 reward, in addition to another $1,500 reward donated anonymously, for information leading to an arrest in the vandalism. Those rewards are on top of the maximum $1,000 offered by Crimestoppers.

In August, 13 historic grave markers dating back to the mid 1800s were damaged at the Olde Presbyterian Church on West Gay Street in Lancaster. Two spotlights were severely damaged and the grave markers were pushed over, causing some to break.

The site had been restored in 2010-2011 and the grave markers were restored in 2013. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We just recently completed some $25,000 in repairs to many headstones, some of which may have been broken in previous acts of vandalism," said a post on the Cultural Arts Center's Facebook page.

If you have any information about this incident, you are urged to contact Crimestoppers in any of the following ways: Call 1-888-CRIME SC (888-274-6372), Text TIPSC plus your tip info to CRIMES (274637), visit www.midlandscrimestoppers.com and email a tip. Your identity will be kept anonymous, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.