Family’s memorial for late daughter vandalized in Ohio park by alleged MAGA supporters; BLM tossed

STARK COUNTY, Ohio — Mourning Ohio parents are looking for answers after a memorial site in Quail Hollow Park dedicated to their late daughter was discovered to be vandalized.

Dan and Polly Moss lost their 24-year-old daughter Mallory to a car accident in Columbus, Ohio, in May 2022.

To honor their daughter’s memory the Canton Repository says the couple purchased a memorial bench from the Stark Parks and had a Dogwood tree planted next to it on the first anniversary of Mallory’s death.

The family also added potted plants with placed brightly colored stones with positive messages from family and friends.

It was a message on one of the stones that Polly Moss tells Canton Repository she believes triggered the vandalism, including the theft of the potted plants.

Moss says that one of Mallory’s friends requested the parents to place a stone with ‘BLM’ (Black Lives Matter) on their behalf.

It was soon after that the Canton Repository reported the tree was defaced with MAGA graffiti, and the BLM rock was tossed into the nearby woods.

Keegan Moss, brother to late Mallory, cleaned up the site, but the very next morning Polly said she visited the tree which had been again vandalized, this time with “Jesus is Lord,’ and more MAGA stones.

Moss reportedly cleaned the site once more and left a note for the vandals that read:

“My family purchased and decorated this tree and bench through Stark Parks to honor our daughter, Mallory, who died in 2022. We maintain it with the stones and flowers so that people will want to visit here, sit and relax and maybe even think of her. It would be appreciated if you would simply respect this and stop painting the tree and destroying the display. This is not to be a political or religious statement but rather a place to allow others to enjoy. Please give us this peace as we continue to mourn Mallory and honor her. Please just visit and leave things as they are! “

According to the Canton Repository, Moss returned two days later to find a pile of dog feces and a note that stated, “Dear liberal: This is not a cemetery. It’s not our fault that Mallory is dead. The devil comes as an angel of light. You can hope all you want. It’s too late for her. It’s time to get yourself right with the Lord. Leave us alone.”

The Moss family cleaned up the memorial yet again, but when they returned two days later, Canton Repository said the tree was gone.

Vandals had chopped it down.

Mallory’s aunt blames the toxic and political climate for the destruction of the memorial.

Alyssa Stout, Mallory’s former college roommate, posted a video about the incident, which went viral on TikTok .

The 700-acre public park is under the jurisdiction of Stark Park rangers, who according to Canton Repository, have opened an investigation into the vandalism.

Stark Parks asks anyone with any information about the incident to contact the Stark Park rangers at 330-353-2377.

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