Posted on 08/16/2026 10:02:52 AM PDT by JSM_Liberty
Florida deputies are on the hunt for modern-day tomb raiders who have been visiting cemeteries across parts of the U.S. to steal from the dead, investigators say.
"What a horrible person you are if you decide to steal from the dead," Orange County Sheriff's Office Corporal Cole Brazee said Wednesday.
According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the trio of criminals, who are from the Indianapolis area, have been heading to cemeteries and breaking into niches containing cremated remains and taking family heirlooms that people leave behind for the departed loved ones.
"Typically, in these mausoleums, inside of a niche, their urn is inside of it," Brazee said. "Their loved ones will leave like some jewelry that meant something to them in that niche with their remains."
And these three thieves have been all over the eastern half of the nation, according to detectives.
Angela Garrett (left), Drake Milam (center), and Porsche Bancroft (right) are accused of visiting cemeteries and breaking into niches containing cremated remains and stealing family heirlooms that people leave behind.
"They've been everywhere from Oklahoma City to Minnesota to Texas, here in Florida," he said. "They visited Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina and even so far northeast as to Buffalo, New York."
In total, detectives said there are at least 20 cases in Florida that are being investigated, and deputies fear there could be many more.
"There could be a significant amount of individuals that have been victimized that just don't know it yet," Brazee said.
He urged people who haven't visited departed loved ones in a long time to do so.
"If you haven't visited your loved one in a while and you know they're in a niche, make sure that your property is still there," Brazee said. "If it's not, make sure you report it to your local law enforcement."
Deputies identified the trio as Drake Lee Milam, 33; his girlfriend, Porsche Bancroft, 32; and her mother, Angela Garrett, 52.
"They all have full extradition warrants out of Central Florida, and if you see them, if you know who they are, you know where they are, please call Crimeline and turn them in because there are warrants for their arrest," Brazee said.
According to the sheriff's office, Central Florida Crimeline is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to arrests.
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Nice haircut, “Drake”.
Above-ground burial vaults in Coconut Grove, FL, were raided for skulls used for Haitian Voodoo rites.
Key West and New Orleans probably were prime for crime...
Would it be racists to say tomb raiding is mostly a white crime because black folks spook too easily to be messing with the dead?
This type of crime is occurring far too often. In major metropolitan areas, the graves of military veterans are being targeted by thieves looking to steal decorative bronze markers and medallions indicating that the deceased were in the armed forces. The petty criminals resell the bronze to corrupt salvage companies that recycle scrap metals. It has gotten so bad that some organizations like the American Legion are now selling plastic ornaments to be installed at military graves.
It would be racist for someone to see this (or any other article of general news) and have the first thing that comes to mind be ‘race’.
ALL cemeteries are rife with bronze plaque removals—sold for scrap value—like Connecticut summer cottages are for copper pipe...
Spook?
Sure, grave robbery is a crime. However, life is for the living. Anyone who leaves valuables in a cemetery is foolish thinking they will remain there forever. If something has value, give it to someone in the family, or donate it to a charity. Leaving it in the cemetery is wasteful.
Nice haircut, “Drake”.
It’s pronounced “Dra-kay”.
Unsurprisingly, none of them look like Lara Croft.
Also, unsurprisingly, they aren’t Friends of Yogi.
“What a horrible person you are if you decide to steal from the dead,”
Meanwhile there are countless museums displaying the belongings of dead people. Heck. They even put the dead people in them too.
My father won the Golden Gloves; he gave one to a showgirl in New York (who claimed, when they broke up, that she had ‘lost’ it) and the other his stepfather wore on his watch chain for decades, and then was buried with.
I can’t resent the step father; but I resent the showgirl; she even admitted to me later that she had lied.
One of these days they may come across a spirit that does not want them to rob their tomb.
They all look well-fed.
Been stealing Mummies and Tombs for years and years.
I guess they should just open a Museum and show reproductions, then it would be OK?
That, and black people typically rob the living.
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