Becker family reunited with beloved statue after it was removed from cemetery

Family grieves gravesite memorial removal

In 2006, the Connoy family lost Jacob, their son and brother, at the age of 27, and laid him to rest at Orono Cemetery in Elk River. But a statue on his gravesite headstone was recently removed.

ELK RIVER, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Connoy family has been reunited with a statue that was lost after being removed from their loved one's gravesite in Elk River.

The cemetery where 27-year-old Jacob Connoy is buried had allowed items to be placed at the graves of loved ones until the caretaker died, and a new board took over.

The cemetery posted signs saying certain items were no longer allowed, but the family said they never saw that sign and were dismayed to discover their statue and other belongings had been removed from Jacob's headstone and tossed aside.

"It would mean everything to us if we got that back," Jacob’s mother Sandy previously told FOX 9.

A woman found a statue of a little boy with a dog and a book and placed it on her loved one's grave. She had no idea it belonged to someone else until she saw the Connoy’s story on FOX 9.

The woman contacted the family, and returned the statue to them on Sept. 5. The three of them took a picture together, smiling, happy to have the statue returned.