MUNCIE, Ind. -- Family members are upset after they say the Muncie cemetery where their loved ones are buried removed gravesite decorations and treasures without their knowledge.
The staff at Elm Ridge Cemetery collected the decorations and placed them in a pile along the fence, next to the large dumpsters on the cemetery property.
Many with loved ones at the cemetery have spent the last few days digging through the piles of treasures that once adorned the graves.
Some of them were lucky enough to find their missing pieces, but not everyone.
Kaylee Scott said there used to be angels on the tombstone of her 20-month-old Ja’colby Scott. Those angels are now gone, along with everything else.
“It’s hard enough going every day without my son,” said Scott. “Now you come and destroy his stuff. Now I can’t find his angels. My daughter can’t play with him. It’s very, very rude.”
Elm Ridge Cemetery General Manager Jeff Bates said they remove decorations twice each year, to keep the property manicured and clean.
Family members say if they had been told, they could have prepared and moved items before the clean-up, but instead, they’re forced to dig through piles of family treasures and memorials to try to find the ones that belong to their loved ones.
Cora Thompson’s parents Sally and Billy West are both buried at the cemetery. She said she’s heartbroken because their gravesite was stripped of things that meant so much to her and she spent so much time making sure that it was clean and looked good.
“We’re already grieving enough,” said Thompson. “We shouldn’t have to go through this. This is very, very painful.”
Cora had cedar mulch and flowers planted along the tombstone – all things that were removed by cemetery staff.
“There is no way you can have a heart and do this to people,” said Thompson. “It’s unfair.
“There are no words in the human vocabulary that can describe how devastating it is to have to dig through this,” said Matthew Rouse.
Rouse’s best friend Nick Mullinix is buried at the cemetery, and he said several items were removed from the grave without him or the family knowing.
“I don’t have any more tears,” said Rouse. “I’m cried out from what I have lost.”
Bates said the cemetery plans to work on improving their communication to families in the future.
“We have heard and are thoughtful of the concerns of families we serve. Elm Ridge is dedicated to improving our bi-annual cleanup process and communications,” said Bates.
The cemetery’s Memorial Day cleanup will be June 5, and the first cleanup of 2018 will be on February 23.
