Missing memorial for 20-year-old Beaufort woman returned after mother speaks out

A day after a Beaufort mother pleaded with the public for answers regarding a missing cross stolen from a roadside memorial for her 20-year-old daughter, the item was returned.

The cross was erected at the intersection of Bay Pines and Laurel Bay Roads in November, 2018, days after Tayla Hill died from injuries she sustained in a car crash.

The memorial site was created by loved ones, including family, neighbors, classmates and coworkers. As Taylor was laid to rest in her hometown of Washington D.C., the memorial became a place for South Carolina loved ones to visit.

Late last month, the memorial went missing.

Hill’s mother, Ericka Rivers, told The Island Packet last week that she believed it was intentionally stolen because the cross was cemented into the ground.

She also told a newspaper reporter that the white cross was sentimental because over time, loved ones had scribed messages to Hill on the cross.

A day after the story published, the cross was returned Rivers said.

“Saturday morning a friend of ours called and said a friend drove past there and all the stuff was placed on the ground by the memorial,” Rivers said. “They had put it in plastic bags.”

While Rivers is still confused about who stole the cross and why it was stolen, she is grateful it has been brought back.

“I am just thankful to get it back because it holds a lot of sentimental thoughts and prayers on it,” Rivers said.

Friends and family replaced the cross at the memorial last week, Rivers said. She plans to keep the original cross at her home. She said friends are going to put a gloss finish on the cross to preserve the messages friends and family have written.

Other items stolen from the memorial such as a picture frame, candles and a vase also were returned. Rivers said some of the items were broken.