Memorial cross vandalized at Idaho reservoir
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CAMBRIDGE — A memorial cross at Oxbow Reservoir was vandalized beyond repair, leaving family members in shock.
Twenty-one years ago on Memorial Day, John Travis died in a four-wheeler crash at Oxbow Reservoir. Travis’ family left a memorial cross in the area where he passed to try and warn other recreationists of the danger of reckless behavior. Since then, the family has visited the cross yearly, if not more, to pay their respects and honor Travis.
When they arrived this year, they found Travis’ memorial cross full of bullet holes and bent and twisted beyond repair.
“My 82-year-old mom, she is really adamant about going up there. I take her up there all the time, at least, you know, once a year. And when she walked up there — it is quite a walk for her — when she got up there, she just started sobbing. I could not fathom that somebody would do that to (the memorial),” said Ronda Hunsaker, a member of Travis’ family.
Hunsaker said there were “probably over 100 gun shell casings” lying around the area of the cross, and the cross itself was bent and twisted.
“We cemented it into the ground. So it’s not like you can take it and have it repaired somewhere,” said Hunsaker.
Oxbow Reservoir is a popular recreation spot on the Idaho-Oregon line. Hunsaker said they’d never had issues with vandalism in the past, and it generally isn’t a problem for the area.
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Hunsaker hopes that she and her family can find a way to either replace or repair the memorial cross in some way.
“It means a lot to us. You know, it’s sacred, and everybody has seen that cross. People know what happened, and it serves as a reminder he was killed in a four-wheeler accident. It serves as a reminder to people, you know, to be careful,” said Hunsaker.
