NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. — It's been a devastating week for one Newaygo County family after they found the headstones of their relatives desecrated at Oak Grove Cemetery in Croton Township. The family is hoping to raise awareness on the situation and find some answers, with help from the community.
For Nicole Klomp and her two kids, the cemetery is their sanctuary. It's where the kids' dad, Jeff Klomp, is laid to rest alongside his father, Wayne, his grandpa and his uncle.
"They have still struggled with coping with the loss of their father and coping with just the loss of having a dad, if you will," said Klomp. "It's a really a safe space, and it's a healing place for the children and just family."
That safe space, however, was disrupted with one phone call Saturday.
"I had gotten a call from Jeff's brother, and he had indicated that somebody had ran over the headstone," Klomp added.
It wasn't until Klomp received a photo that she understood the gravity of the situation.
"The picture had showed a car that had driven up with tire tracks, and they had kind of went around the outside of the road and then straight over Jeff's tombstone, or headstone," said Klomp. "And so it was really disturbing, because his headstone was in the middle of the road, and it was flipped all the way over."
There was enough force from the car to topple over Jeff's 300-pound headstone into the road. His father's headstone had also been dislodged. It was a shocking discovery for Klomp and her kids.
"When these things do happen, it does trigger a lot of emotions, and it brings some of that trauma up that we've all thought we've healed from," Klomp said.
Klomp's family filed a police report with the Newaygo County Sheriff's Office.
"The deputy who took the complaint, just being supportive, knowing that, you know, it could potentially be an MDOP or a malicious destruction of property. And I think just offering those words of support has been really... has been really beneficial, especially to the kids, just knowing that they are supported, that they are loved," said Klomp.
The surrounding community has reached out to the family with open arms.
"Both Wayne and Jeff were known very well in the community, and everybody has been very supportive. Just knowing the family, knowing the kiddos, knowing what, you know, we went through not that long ago and still trying to heal from all of that. They've offered a lot of words of support, indicating if there's anything that we needed to let them know," Klomp said.
For Klomp, one of the hardest parts is wondering if the act was intentional.
"My hope is that if this was an intentional act, that they're able to heal from whatever it is that they were struggling with and the reasons why they chose to do this and that they seek the help that they need for that, whether it's counseling or just talking to somebody about it. It'd be great if they could contact one of the family members and let them know, 'Hey, you know what? It's me, sorry,'" Klomp said. "But if not, and it was accidental, then I hope that they just make better choices in the future, and maybe not drink and drive, if that's what it was, and not make choices where they're going through a graveyard at night and not paying attention to what's going on around them."
She hopes the message will resonate with others in the community.
"Just bringing more light to it and bringing more attention to it, that people can be a little bit more responsible if they are out joyriding. Call a friend, call somebody to pick you up," said Klomp. "I think if anything, this has just brought the family closer together, and is just really helping be there for each other, to remind us that we're going to continue to go through hard times."
FOX 17 reached out to the Newaygo County Sheriff's Office for more information but did not hear back. If you have any information about what happened, contact the sheriff's office at (231) 689-7303.
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