Detroit Cemetery Exhuming 20 Bodies in Grave Mix-Up

Family members were devastated after discovering that their loved ones' remains may have been buried in the wrong place in a Detroit cemetery. Gethsemane Cemetery started exhuming 20 bodies Monday in a process expected to be completed Wednesday, the Detroit News reports. It's not clear how many of those may have been mixed up, but the police department is working with the city to make sure families get answers. The investigation started earlier this year when relatives complained that a teenager was not buried in the gravesite they had purchased, ClickOnDetroit reports.

The family could not locate their deceased relative, the Detroit Free Press reports, and requested his body be exhumed. They ultimately discovered four bodies were buried at his gravesite, none of them his. From there, the city set up a hotline for other concerned families, and out of 52 credible complaints, authorities deemed the 20 in question to be worthy of further investigation—meaning their remains will be dug up. The cemetery is not commenting on the matter publicly. (More Detroit stories.)