Residents near the Kanokita Park in Higashi, Osaka, Japan, discovered in late March that 18 branches and 3 trunks had gone missing from surrounding cherry blossom trees.

At first the residents assumed the missing tree parts were cut down as a form of maintenance to prevent rot or disease, as reported by The Mainichi via SoraNews24.

Read also: Annual cherry blossom viewing begins in Osaka

Judging by the cuts, authorities believe the thieves used power tools like chainsaws to cut away the missing pieces. Some of the tree parts stolen measured around three meters or nearly 10 feet in length.

Netizen and local resident Norikyuu (@Norikyuu) shared some photos of the crime scene in a tweet posted on April 1.

桜切断の被害にあった例の公園、加納北公園へいってみた。真新しい切断面が痛々しく、酷い。この公園、工業団地のど真ん中にあって、夜中だと人気はほとんどなさそう。もしかしたら昼間でもそうなのかも。 pic.twitter.com/vkDMo4qAnZ

— のりきゅう (@Norikyuu) April 1, 2018

When the branches were cut still remains a mystery. Norikyuu suspects the thieves came in the middle of the night since the trees were in the middle of an industrial park and few people pass through the area at night. Norikyuu also thinks the branches may have been cut down in daytime as well where the thieves disguised themselves as park maintenance personnel.

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