ANDERSON, Calif. -- Little Ricky Kahler loved trains.Every time the toddler saw one, his mother said, he would get excited and shout "too-too."Not yet 2 when he drowned in a tragic pool accident in 1988, he was too young to say "choo-choo," she said.It's been nearly 20 years since Amanda and Ken Kahler of Anderson, Calif. buried their son, but their pain returned full force Sunday when they visited Ricky's grave at the Happy Valley Cemetery near Redding.Someone had stolen the die-cast toy trains that decorated their son's simple grave."His train was gone," said his disbelieving mother. "It makes you wonder how anyone could steal or destroy anyone's grave -- especially a child's grave."Ricky died five weeks before his second birthday on Sept. 4, 1988, when he apparently climbed over a locked fence surrounding an above-ground pool and drowned.The Happy Valley Cemetery allows families to embellish the graves as they see fit. So, the family eventually built a brick foundation around his grave and placed toy trains around it, Ricky's mother said.The first train set, which was made of plastic, eventually blew away -- or was stolen -- and it was replaced with the heavier die-cast trains more than two years ago, she said.The family had last visited his gravesite at Christmas and the trains, including an engine, caboose, tanker and other pieces -- about 12 in total -- were still there.But when the family returned to the cemetery Sunday, the train pieces were gone. The train tracks were undisturbed.Kahler, a 47-year-old bartender, said she and her 43-year-old husband, an automobile technician, plan to replace the stolen train, which used to run down both sides of the grave on the bricks that outline it.But, this time, she said, "we will set them in cement."Jim Schultz can be reached at jschultz(at)redding.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com
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