WINDSOR, CT — Police are investigating after a memorial bench and a historic bronze plaque were stolen days apart from two sites along Windsor's Freedom Trail.
The bench, dedicated to longtime community leaders Alfred and Patricia Narcisse, was discovered missing Sept. 16 from the cemetery at Archer Memorial AME Zion Church, according to WFSB.
Windsor Freedom Trail Committee Chair Patricia Gardner found the cemetery gate pried back while preparing the property for the group's annual Freedom Trail Run, WTNH reported.
The bench was dedicated in October 2022 in recognition of the Narcisses' decades of service. The couple led the Freedom Trail Committee for 25 years and were active in the Hayden Station neighborhood.
Gardner told WTNH the bench gave visitors a place to sit and reflect. It also served as a memorial where the couple's sons could remember their parents.
Two days after the bench was discovered missing, committee members found that a bronze Freedom Trail plaque had been removed from the back of the U.S. Colored Regiments Memorial Monument at Windsor Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
The plaque appeared to have been chiseled out of the monument, according to WFSB. The monument was dedicated in May and honors African American soldiers and sailors from Windsor who served during the Civil War.
Both thefts have been reported to Windsor police. Authorities have not publicly said whether they believe the two incidents are connected, and no arrests have been announced.
"We want the bench back, so please bring it back," Mayor Nuchette Black-Burke told WTNH.
The thefts came during Connecticut Freedom Trail Month and as Windsor's Freedom Trail Committee marks its 30th anniversary.
Windsor's 3.9-mile Freedom Trail includes seven sites connected to African American history and the pursuit of freedom. Several have ties to the Underground Railroad.
Archer Memorial AME Zion Church, its cemetery and a nearby pine grove are recognized stops on both the Windsor and Connecticut Freedom Trails.
The missing items did not stop the committee from holding its annual Freedom Trail Run on Saturday. A walking tour of the trail is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, beginning at 7 a.m. at the church, 320 Hayden Station Road. The tour is free, but registration is required.
Anyone with information about either theft can contact the Windsor Police Department at 860-688-5273.
For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.
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