CLARK COUNTY — Two mothers are trying to figure out what happened to their roadside memorials for their children.
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The Ohio Department of Transportation said roadside memorials can be an unintended safety hazard, but they weren’t the ones who removed them.
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“They definitely picked the worst week to take it,” Elizabeth Penwell said.
Her son, 17-year-old Osman Díaz, and Taylor Haffner died in a car crash along US 68 in Clark County on April 21, 2023.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 2 teens dead following crash on U.S. 68 in Clark County
To remember the teenagers, they placed a small memorial.
“It was two crosses. One had Osman birth and death date. And then the other one had Taylor birthday and death date,” Penwell said.
Now it’s gone.
“Our first thought was, who do we contact to find out who took it? Because we were thinking maybe ODOT, Sheriff, and as of right now, we can’t figure out who took it,” Penwell said.
She isn’t alone in experiencing this.
Amber Viol, mother of Koda Austin, said the same thing happened to her.
“This is actually the second time that his crosses came up missing, and we’re not sure where they’re going,” Viol said.
Viol replaced with the first cross with another one, using concrete as its anchor.
But that was taken too.
“It was intentional for them to take his the second time,” Viol said.
News Center 7 talked to the Ohio Department of Transportation about the missing crosses.
They said roadside memorials are removed if it’s a safety hazard, but they return them to the families.
Both mothers are planning to file a report with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol Division.
ODOT wants to keep roadways safe, but understands that some grieving families want to leave roadside memorials.
They don’t recommend putting those memorials along highways.
“With the cross, you can’t really see their names when you’re driving by. You kind of gotta look. But with ODOT signs and adopt a highway, everybody will be able to see their names,” Penwell said.
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