INDEPENDENCE - Two boys have been accused of vandalizing dozens of graves in an Independence cemetery.

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office says both children, ages 14 and 12, were arrested on multiple charges involving damage caused at Colonial Cemetery on Wednesday.

Arriving deputies found more than 50 grave sites desecrated, 32 of them broken into and seven structures housing human ashes opened and dumped onto the concrete walkway.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Dawn Panepinto says numerous personal items left at the graves were damaged or completely broken and multiple American flags had been removed, damaged and thrown to the ground.

Panepinto says one of the suspects was found hiding on top of a mausoleum and another found riding a bicycle nearby.

Both were taken to a juvenile detention center.