By SANDY McGEE

BURRILLVILLE — Why would anyone remove a wreath, a cross and a greeting card from a roadside memorial? That’s the question being asked by Bonnie Langford after she discovered those items missing from a memorial created to honor her son, who died in March after a motor vehicle crash.

Brian M. Langford Jr., 22, of 19 Hillside Drive, Mapleville, died on March 5 at Rhode Island Hospital from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision that occurred in Oakland on March 1. A memorial to Langford was set up on a utility pole on Central Street in the days following his death.
Brian’s mother, Bonnie Langford, drove about two weeks ago from her home in Connecticut to the memorial site in Oakland to place silk roses at the location of her son’s death. Upon arrival, Bonnie discovered that the utility pole had been stripped bare of the many tributes left by friends and family.
The missing items, which have since been returned, included a flower wreath; an Easter card, which was purchased on the night of the crash; and a homemade wooden cross, which was handcrafted by a friend of Brian’s and inscribed with her son’s name, date of birth and date of death.
“I’m very devastated,” said Bonnie. “His friends are very devastated. For one of his best friends to make this and take the time to make it, he was very hurt. It’s pretty sad that people can do things like this.”
Bonnie also said she discovered that a heart-shaped flower wreath, which was previously on the pole, had been left on the dirt ground.
Residents of the area told Langford that the items had been missing for days. The family immediately contacted the Burrillville Police Department, which investigated the incident.
According to Lt. Kevin S. San Antonio of the Burrillville Police Department, the items were located and returned to Bonnie Langford on Thursday. No one was arrested or charged in the incident, according to police.
“This is the accident site that took my son’s life and I should have a right to put a memorial there for him,” Langford said. “I should have a right to put flowers and cards. It’s a place where I can go to grieve.”
Roadside memorials have been debated throughout the nation in the past few years due to safety concerns for other motorists.
A few states, including Colorado, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, currently ban roadside tributes. Several other states allow roadside memorials, but with certain time restrictions and other limitations.
Langford said that the memorial site, which is located on public property, offers her a place to remember her son.
“I just wish people would understand my feelings about it,” she said. “This was my son. I will never see him get married. I will never have anything again with my son. It just saddens me that some people don’t understand that.”
Family and friends held a candlelight vigil in Langford’s memory on Friday at midnight at the memorial site, which is located in the area of 300 Central St. in Oakland.
A replacement cross was also placed at the site during the vigil. An online memorial to Langford was also previously set up on Myspace.
A native of Burrillville, Langford left behind a large extended family, including a brother, three stepbrothers and four stepsisters.
He was also the son of Brian Langford of Burrillville and the stepson of Kevin Hirst. He had attended Burrillville High School.
Bonnie Langford said her son was an outgoing young man, who loved to ride all terrain vehicles on the weekends.
“He was very outgoing,” she said. “He loved four-wheeling every Sunday. That was his pastime. Rain, sleet or snow – it didn’t matter.”
Her son worked various jobs in the past years, but had recently begun an apprenticeship to become a lineman with a company headquartered in Boston.