CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ A mass grave desecration Saturday at a North Carolina cemetery may have involved a single, middle-aged woman seen at the burial site with two dogs, according to a Graham County Sheriff's Office Facebook post.
At least 60 tombstones were overturned Saturday in what police described as a "despicable act" at Lone Oak Cemetery, near Lake Santeetlah in western North Carolina, the post said.
Photos that accompanied the post showed row after row of tombstones toppled in the dirt along the cemetery's mountain slopes.
The suspect was caught on church surveillance cameras Saturday, wearing a plaid shirt, jeans and sunglasses, the sheriff's office said. She left in an older model white Pontiac, officials posted.
On Monday, TV station WLOS identified the suspect as 58-year-old Dawn Renee Phillips and reported she was arrested by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office on 61 felony counts of desecrating graves. She has a Kentucky driver's license, the station reported.
Fox Carolina reported Monday that bond for Phillips was set at $125,000.
"The female is the only subject that was found to be on the video, (but we are) not ruling out that others are involved," a Graham County Sheriff's Office Facebook post stated.
The suspect was identified Sunday, after a tipster reported seeing her at a rest area near Andrews in Cherokee County, according to the sheriff's office. Graham County Sheriff's Office said an arrest warrant was issued with the help of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators have not said where the suspect lives, why she was at the cemetery or what the motive was behind toppling the tombstones.
