Police were alerted after more than a dozen crematorium stones went missing from a church.
The incident was described as an 'act of sacrilege' by St Wilfrid's church in Northenden, south Manchester.
The church has since said some of the stones have been found in another part of the churchyard, after being removed from where they were installed.
In a post on Facebook, the church said: "Fourteen crematorium stones have 'gone missing' from our churchyard.
"If you know anything about this act of sacrilege, please get in touch."
Later, the church posted a further update thanking people for their support.
Commenters on the post had hit out at the 'abhorrent' and 'disrespectful' incident.
The church added: "Hi everyone. Thanks for all your messages of support and concern, and our hearts go out to all those families who would have been upset by the news last night.
"The good news is that we have now located at least some of the stones in another part of the churchyard in bags and rucksacks (ready to be carted off, no doubt).
"We have contacted the police and they are being stored for evidence, but we will get them re-installed as fast as we can."
The church says it will check whether the stones removed were blank or whether they featured names of the deceased.
Thieves struck at a Grade I listed church in Whitefield, Bury last month.
They dug up more than a dozen highly sought after Yorkshire stone slabs.
The slabs were mostly taken from in front of the main entrance, at All Saints Parish Church, Stand, and had been prised out from between two 200-year-old family vaults.
Responding to that incident, a local resident said: "It is shameful behaviour. They have clearly made the most of lockdown."
