MENDOCINO CO., 9/5/26 — Vandals damaged or scattered flowers, flags and memorial items on several gravesites at a Round Valley Indian Reservation cemetery north of Covelo, the Round Valley Tribal Police Department said.
Tribal police officers responded Friday to the Headquarters Cemetery near Biggar Lane and Highway 162 after a report that multiple gravesites had been vandalized and disturbed, the department said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that afternoon.
Officers found several gravesites where flowers, flags, memorial items and other property had been damaged or scattered through the cemetery, the statement said. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office was called and responded to assist.
The sheriff’s office daily media log for Friday lists a vandalism call at 9:42 a.m. at a location on Biggar Lane in Covelo, incident number 2026-00016637. The log gives no description of the incident.
Neither agency has announced an arrest or described a suspect. The tribal police statement did not say when the damage happened or how many graves were affected.
Headquarters Cemetery is a tribal cemetery about a mile north of the unincorporated community of Covelo. It is not one of the three cemeteries run by the Covelo Public Cemetery District.
“Cemeteries are sacred places where our loved ones are laid to rest and where families go to honor and remember them,” the tribal police statement said. “Please respect these areas and the families of those buried there.”
The department asked anyone with information to contact law enforcement. The Round Valley Tribal Police Department can be reached at 707-983-8227. The sheriff’s office tip line is 707-234-2100.
