Chicago: Human bone found on ground at 2nd cemetery spurs probe

July 26, 2009
BY LAUREN FITZPATRICK

SouthtownStar

A human bone was found on the ground at a far south suburban cemetery, but officials can't say whether the situation mirrors the alleged grave-reselling scheme at Burr Oak Cemetery.

A man delivering concrete vaults Friday morning to Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South Cemetery near Glenwood noticed the bone and called police, Cook County sheriff's spokesman Steve Patterson said.

The Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed Saturday the bone is human, leading the sheriff to open an investigation, Patterson said.

"I don't know whether this is a sign of a greater problem or if there is a valid reason why this bone was found where it was,'' Patterson said in a statement.

Patterson could not say how long the investigation would last, but noted that the investigation at Burr Oak, in Alsip, lasted six weeks before charges were filed against four employees for allegedly digging up 200 to 300 graves and reselling the plots.

As of Saturday evening, the sheriff had not closed Mount Glenwood, he said.

Last Monday three people sued Mount Glenwood, accusing the cemetery of reselling grave sites and double-burying their relatives.

Patterson said officials were aware of the lawsuit but could not say whether there is a correlation with the discovery of the bone.

The lawsuit was filed a week after a former gravedigger at a sister property, Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens West, near Hickory Hills, said he buried bodies two and three deep for years.

read article here and additional articles from Sun-times.com.

Mt. Glenwood Memory Gardens -History and Heritage check this out! on the web as of today, June 26, 2009.

Find a grave.com

.
I wonder how widespread this is. What DOES a cemetery do once it has reached capacity? The older, larger cemeterys around here on the prairie still sell plots, but then we have no where near the population as the large metro's. We still live in a place with wide open space between towns and lots of room.

I know most large cemeterys are run by a board of directors, but once there are no plots to sell, where does the money come from to maintain the grave-yard? I'm not trying to defend anyone's actions but am interested in the whole management system.