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Detroit man wants to know what happened to his mother's missing headstone

Posted at 9:39 PM, Aug 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-04 23:16:28-04

A local man says he recently visited his mother’s gravesite only to find her headstone was missing.

Now he wants answers from the city of Detroit about who’s in charge and he wants the cemetery cleaned up.

When Donald Kirksey says he visited his mother’s grave he walked up to her headstone. When he looked down. He says her headstone was missing.

Kirksey says his family is devastated after recently visiting the grave of his mother - Jannie Kirksey - at Forest Hill Cemetery on Detroit’s west side, only to find her headstone is missing and the cemetery itself in disarray.

Kirksey moved away from Detroit in the 80s around the time his mother died. He’s spent decades serving in the army - something he’s proud to talk about.

Another disturbing discovery he found at Forest Hill Cemetery - soldier’s headstone’s removed from their graves.

Kirksey says he’s reached out to the city several times to ask who’s responsible and why the cemetery looks the way it does.

So far he’s had no luck getting a response.

Now living back in Detroit, Kirksey says he’s hoping he can get some answers from city officials soon, so he can have peace and his late mother can rest in peace.

We did reach the city. They say many of the cemeteries in the city have been overseen by management companies over the years. But we’re told city officials will be looking into the missing headstones immediately.