A dad has been left heartbroken after sentimental items were allegedly stolen his baby son’s grave in Edinburgh. Ryan Guilar was just three months old when he tragically died in in December 1989.
He was laid to rest in Mount Vernon Cemetery, the capital’s only Catholic cemetery. His dad Edward and sisters Georgeina and Charlene moved from Saughton to Perth but still visit his resting place to keep his memory alive.
There have been no issues for over 30 years, but recently, the family started noticing items they placed there disappearing and not being returned, including two sets of solar lights and a panda ornament laid just last month.
The family believe someone has deliberately taken the items. Georgeina, 35, told Edinburgh Live: “My brother never got the chance to have pretty things in life and it seems he can’t have them in death either.
“I am hurt and angry that someone can just steal from people who have passed away. To walk into a cemetery and lift items off of someone’s resting place is a despicable act.
View 3 ImagesRyan’s dad Edward and sisters Georgeina and Charlene(Image: Edinburgh Live)
“Although I never got the chance to meet Ryan, he is and always will be my big brother and for some senseless, thoughtless person to think it’s acceptable to do what they did is beyond me.”
Ryan was born at the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion in September 1989 but suffered from bronchitis. Three months later, on December 16, Edward, 65, went to wake Ryan up for his bottle, but sadly, it was too late.
Edward said: “I’ll never ever forget the image I have in my head of Ryan laying there, passed away.
“I am hurt and saddened by the items stolen from my son’s resting place.
“A resting place is supposed to be a sacred, peaceful space to honour our loved one. Having that disrupted by someone else’s thoughtless actions is a deeply painful sting. It feels like a violation of his memory and our grief.”
View 3 ImagesBaby Ryan passed away just before Christmas in 1989(Image: Edinburgh Live)
Ryan’s family insist the cemetery staff are not to blame for what has happened.
Charlene, 32, added: “It’s affected us all but more so our dad. He’s been grieving for his son for 37 years, and for someone to do something like that just makes you feel that you have lost a little bit more of your loved one.”
A Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh spokesperson, which operates the cemetery, said: “We are sorry to hear about items being taken from the loved one’s grave. We have been in contact with the family regarding the matter.”
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