A Maltese-Canadian was shocked to find her father's gravestone missing when she visited a cemetery in Rabat.

Carol Tonna Bellefleur told Times of Malta she had come to Malta to visit her father’s grave. She and her husband used to visit her father, Roger Tonna, every year and meant to continue the tradition after his death in 2016.

“We arrived in Malta a few days ago and went to the cemetery at the first opportunity.

“As soon as I walked to the spot where my father is buried, I realised that the memorial stone I had put up was missing,” Ms Tonna Bellefleur said.

At first she though somebody may have moved it, as it was not fixed, but she could not locate it.

The plaque – which cost €600 – was designed in Italy and included a photo of her father.

“My father owned a restaurant in Rabat, and so he was very well-known here. People have sent me messages telling me that they visited the cemetery to honour his memory. They can no longer do that now,” Ms Tonna Bellefleur said, holding back tears.

She said a family friend had visited just three weeks ago and the plaque was intact. “I cannot understand why someone would do such a thing. I will go to the police to file a report, but it’s not about the plaque. It’s the only thing that connected me to my late father, and now it’s gone too.”

While she is resigned to the plaque not being returned, Ms Tonna Bellefleur appealed to anyone who might have information about it to come forward.