SAINT PAUL, Minn — Along Lower Landing Park in Saint Paul, some evidence of the crime remains in the Mississippi River.
"There's one right here. you can see the root ball is still sticking out," says Henry Frankson of Tree Trust, the Saint Paul nonprofit that contracts with the City of Saint Paul to plant trees.
Henry and his coworker Malick Jenke were among the first to discover that much of their recent hard work was literally uprooted and discarded.
"I could see just a trail of dirt leading up to the edge [of the river]. We were looking over, and we could see several trees," Henry said. "A number of these trees we planted with our own hands. It's incredibly disappointing and incredibly frustrating. And it just breaks my heart."
Vandals uprooted or destroyed 59 of the 245 trees planted along Shepard Road in Saint Paul over MEA weekend. Those trees were planted by Tree Trust and its young student workers.
Tree Trust's Director of Community Forestry Karen Dumach says its work revolves around urban forestry and youth employment training -- giving young people their first job in a field they believe makes a big difference in the community.
"There was a lot of hope around the work they were doing, having that impact on the community into the future," Dumach said.
These particular trees were planted to replace the diseased Ash trees that Saint Paul had to remove.
Of the 59 damaged, 14 were able to be salvaged and replanted, but the city will have to address the rest in the spring. They estimate the damage caused tops $40,000.
Henry and Malick are trying to make sense of it.
"I was confused, honestly. I wanted to know what the thought process behind it was," Malick said.
But they are learning it's difficult to make sense of a senseless crime.
Saint Paul Police are looking for any tip that can help them solve this case.