Body of 9-year-old girl who died in 1962 is stolen from Pa. grave next to her parents’

Body of Pa. girl who died in ‘62 stolen from grave

LANCASTER, Pa. — Authorities in central Pennsylvania are trying to find out who stole from a grave the body of a 9-year-old girl who died almost half a century ago.

Lancaster police are investigating the disappearance of the body of Paula Ream, who died in August 1962 and was buried in Riverview Cemetery.

Family members say they were shocked when a police supervisor and a chaplain told them Friday evening someone recently had dug up the grave and made off with Paula’s child-size casket and her remains.

The thieves left Paula’s dirt-covered cemetery plaque askew near the markers of her mother and father, who are buried next to her grave. Relatives say they had just visited the gravesite about a week and a half ago and nothing was amiss.

Information from: Intelligencer Journal, www.lancasteronline.com/pages/paper/sundaynews/

(This version CORRECTS girl’s death almost 50 years ago, not almost 40.)