WHITESTOWN, IN (WRTV/CNN) – When a family went to bury their mother alongside her husband, they were shocked to discover the man’s casket wasn’t in his grave.
After Mary Bovenschen died Feb. 18, the plan was to bury her at Lincoln Memory Gardens in Whitestown, IN, with her husband, Charles, who died in 2006.
But the graveside ceremony was delayed when a serious problem was brought to the family’s attention.
“My initial reaction was just shock. I just didn’t say a thing, and then I walked away. And I had to tell the rest of the family that Dad was missing. Dad’s casket wasn’t there,” said the couple’s daughter, Sandi Vasel.
Vasel says when cemetery workers opened Charles Bovenschen’s grave, they didn’t find the shelf, which would have been above his casket for his wife to rest on.
“And I said, ’Well, what you’re telling me is my Dad’s not there? You don’t know where my Dad’s at?’ And she said, ‘Yes, that’s what I’m telling you. We don’t know where your Dad’s at,’” Vasel said.
The troubling discovery could be the result of the business practices of the previous cemetery operator, which oversaw several sites, including Lincoln Memory Gardens.
Customer complaints about the cemetery in 2008 led to state action.
In the latest incident, a spokesperson for the cemetery released a statement, saying, “We deeply apologize to the family and have immediately launched an internal investigation into the matter.”
Vasel says she’s having a difficult time sleeping, dealing with the sickening feeling that her parents’ final wishes are on hold.
“On that day, not only had I lost my mother, but I lost my dad again – not spiritually but physically,” Vasel said. “I want them to find my dad. They need to find my dad, and they need to do it soon.”
Copyright 2018 WRTV, Vasel Family via CNN. All rights reserved.
