SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. -- Thanks to a local coal company, the Flight 93 memorial in Somerset County will now have round the clock protection.

The company has hired private security to patrol the site after federal funding for sheriff's deputies ran out.

There has never been a case of theft or vandalism at the site.

Those who lost friends and family in the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy said they can't imagine anyone doing anything to harm the memorial, but 24-hour patrols of the site stopped last month, and one local company did not want to take the chance.

Greg Edgar and Sarah Altman were on their way back to Ohio after visiting family in Bedford when they decided to stop at the site. They said they were surprised to see how many people have traveled to the site, leaving things in memory of the victims.

"It is amazing to see how far people come, and it's good," said Altman.

The memorabilia is collected every few weeks. Once the permanent memorial is finished in 2011, it will all be displayed again.

Many became concerned some of that memorabilia would be damaged or stolen once Somerset County sheriff's deputies stopped patrolling the site when federal funding ran out last month.

State police took over, but were only able to make random patrols.

Svonavec Inc., which owns about 300 of the 1,700-acre site, has decided to hire private security until local police departments in Conemaugh and Stoneycreek townships can figure out if they have the resources to take over security.

"It's a national monument now, and it just shows what the country is willing to do to preserve this memory and thought," said Edgar.

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