Police are searching for several suspects after a family visiting the grave of a family member was shocked to find that only the head of their loved one remained in the grave at Odendaalsrus cemetery in the Free State.

"A case was registered on January 1, 2019, after the family found that their father's grave had been tampered with," Welkom police spokesperson Captain Stephen Thakeng said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The body in the grave was removed. Only the head was left," Thakeng said.

The unnamed family had last visited the grave on September 15, 2018, and "everything was in order".

When they returned on New Year's Day they found that part of the tombstone had been removed.

Police are calling on anyone with information to come forward.

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