CLUTE, Texas (WTRF) — How did Apple technology solve the mystery of a wave of thefts at a graveyard?

Valuable bronze vases were stolen from more than a hundred graves in Brazoria County, Texas, according to Click2Houston. Thieves had stolen $62,000 worth of the memorial vases in the town of Clute, which is less than one hour south of Houston.

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The thieves intended to sell the bronze vases for scrap metal, according to authorities.

Tony Velazquez told the news outlet that thieves stole a vase from his uncle’s grave, but when he replaced it with a new vase, he had a strategy. He attached an Apple AirTag to the new vase in case it, too, was stolen.

Velazquez’s new vase was indeed also stolen, but he provided the Apple AirTag log in to police who tracked it to a residence outside the town of Brazoria. Police also recovered dozens of other stolen vases there.

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Bronze memorial vases cost around $600 each and Clute Police Chief James Fitch said a group of men were suspected of stealing 102 vases over a two-month period, a total of approximately $62,000 in grave goods.

Authorities charged Dillon Bryan Pollock, Cody Eben, and Daniel Lewis Hale with third-degree felony theft, and a fourth suspect is wanted by police.

One Texas funeral home, Restwood Funeral Home and Memorial Park, told the outlet that bronze vase thefts are common across North America.