Lexington Herald-Leader ~ 9/12/1989
BOWLING GREEN -- The disappearance of a coffin containing the remains of a woman buried in a small family plot 88 years ago has stumped investigators, a sheriff's detective said yesterday.
Charles Forshee, a Warren County sheriff's detective, said the owner of some cattle that had gotten loose through a hole in the cemetery fence noticed the excavated grave Sunday afternoon.
"It was clean dug -- perfect," Forshee said. "Clean down the sides. They
went all the way to the bottom."
The hole in the fence apparently was made by whoever took the coffin, the detective said.
The grave was that of Easter Ann Stewart, who was born Aug. 18, 1825, and died Aug. 15, 1901, at age 75, Forshee said.
He said a rectangular hole 6 feet deep was neatly cut to remove the coffin, but the headstone and footstone were left intact. Four other well-marked, neatly kept graves in the plot were undisturbed, he said. The other graves belonged to members of the Stewart family who died about the same time as Easter Ann Stewart, he said.
The detective said the remains could have been missing for as long as a week to 10 days. Investigators for the sheriff's department were trying to determine who owned the secluded cemetery property.
"We think it's owned by out-of-state investors...There's some controversy over who owns what," Forshee said.
"It's very interesting, and it is a pretty serious crime, but we don't know" he said. "At this time, we are stumped and we just don't know what is going on. It's sad, isn't it?"
A state permit is required before a body may be disinterred and moved to another cemetery. The state Office of Vital Statistics has no record of an application to move the body, said a spokesman for the office in Frankfort.
Warren County Coroner Kevin Kirby and Barren River District Health Department Director Chuck Bunch said they knew of no request to move the contents of the grave to another cemetery.
Charles Forshee, a Warren County sheriff's detective, said the owner of some cattle that had gotten loose through a hole in the cemetery fence noticed the excavated grave Sunday afternoon.
"It was clean dug -- perfect," Forshee said. "Clean down the sides. They
went all the way to the bottom."
The hole in the fence apparently was made by whoever took the coffin, the detective said.
The grave was that of Easter Ann Stewart, who was born Aug. 18, 1825, and died Aug. 15, 1901, at age 75, Forshee said.
He said a rectangular hole 6 feet deep was neatly cut to remove the coffin, but the headstone and footstone were left intact. Four other well-marked, neatly kept graves in the plot were undisturbed, he said. The other graves belonged to members of the Stewart family who died about the same time as Easter Ann Stewart, he said.
The detective said the remains could have been missing for as long as a week to 10 days. Investigators for the sheriff's department were trying to determine who owned the secluded cemetery property.
"We think it's owned by out-of-state investors...There's some controversy over who owns what," Forshee said.
"It's very interesting, and it is a pretty serious crime, but we don't know" he said. "At this time, we are stumped and we just don't know what is going on. It's sad, isn't it?"
A state permit is required before a body may be disinterred and moved to another cemetery. The state Office of Vital Statistics has no record of an application to move the body, said a spokesman for the office in Frankfort.
Warren County Coroner Kevin Kirby and Barren River District Health Department Director Chuck Bunch said they knew of no request to move the contents of the grave to another cemetery.
No comments:
Post a Comment