Three girls have confessed to vandalizing more than 40 headstones and causing more than $20,000 worth of damage in the Blue Springs Cemetery.

Two of the girls are 9 and the other is 12. Officials said they are withholding the girls' names because of their ages.

Gage County Attorney Richard Smith said the girls were walking their dogs and knocked over one of the headstones and enjoyed it, so they continued to push over other stones.

Damage to headstones, many of them more than 100 years old, was estimated somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000. The cemetery is the oldest one registered in the state.

Gage County Sheriff's investigator Terry Stiles said some headstones were destroyed, while others were knocked over and their bases damaged. The vandalism occurred sometime between Sunday afternoon and early Monday.

Smith said the girls will be charged in juvenile court with a petition that, if filed in criminal court would be a felony, and the girls were released into the custody of their parents.

Officials thanked the members of the community who came forward and provided information that was instrumental in solving the crime.

A tip by a third party led officials to the girls after it was announced Monday that the cemetery had been vandalized, Stiles said.

"Anytime anyone can see something or knows something and report it, the quicker the officers can get out there and solve these crimes," Smith said. "It's very important that people report information if they have it."