YORKTOWN, VA (WAVY) – The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office is looking for whoever stole American flags from veterans’ graves at Grace Episcopal Church in Yorktown.

Saturday, Etienne Mercado went to the cemetery to pay his respects.

“We as servicemen kind of wanted to honor our latter people so that the people the ones who have served before us or the founders,” Mercado said.

While he walked around the graves, he noticed something missing. At least a dozen veteran graves did not have American flags in front of them.

“I think it’s a very dishonorable thing because the people who have the flags in front of their graves,” Mercado said. “They’ve earned their flags it’s a way to show they’ve given their lives for us.”

According to a post on the Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, someone stole the flags between late Friday night and the early hours of Saturday morning.

Investigators are hoping someone in the area saw the thief or thieves taking the flags because there has been an increase in the number of people visiting the Yorktown area at night because of the game “Pokemon Go”.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who has information on this crime to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.