LAKE HELEN, Fla. – A Volusia County family is speaking out after their loved one’s grave had to be exhumed due to improper maintenance and organization at a historic cemetery.
“It was completely leveled,” said Summer Bundy, who took News 6 to the Lake Helen-Cassadaga Cemetery and showed her uncle’s freshly dug tombstone after being buried under dirt and grass.
Bundy said it took more than 45 minutes just to uncover her uncle’s grave, adding it took her family too long to even find it.
She said the process was infuriating.
“It raises so many questions to so many families,” Bundy said. “How many other cemeteries aren’t kept up with.”
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The City of Lake Helen said it hopes to solve that problem.
City Commissioner Roger Eckert, who represents the area where the cemetery is located, said city leaders are already working on it.
“We are looking for a company to come out and digitize our records,” Eckert said.
Eckert said he first noticed graves not matching records four years ago when he was trying to identify veterans buried in the cemetery.
“Some of the plots didn’t match the names that were on the maps,” Eckert said.
Eckert said the challenge is that Lake Helen-Cassadaga Cemetery has two sides. A newer side, where Bundy’s lot is located and where people are still being buried, and a historical side where graves date back to the 1800s.
Both sides, however, have conflicting records.
“Like William Nutterfield is buried under a plot by Alice Mead and there is no record of what the relationship is or if the plot was transferred over to him,” Eckert said.
Eckert said the city may use an underground radar to locate any more graves that may be unmarked and also hire a survey company to help clearly lay out roads, and plots.
Lake Helen’s Mayor-elect Vernon Burton, who starts his position next Thursday, said he is working to make sure no other family has to go through this.
“We’re going to start at least where we know that we can put people, we know where they are, and then with whatever information we can do to follow up with people. We want to address this, we really do,” Burton said.
Bundy said she has seen some improvements already but hopes to see the city make a set schedule to clean and maintain the cemetery.
Going forward, Bundy is set to continue to maintain her family’s plot and possibly put up fencing to clearly mark their area.
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