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Philadelphia family believes heavy rain moved family graves at Delco cemetery
A Philadelphia family fears last Sunday’s heavy rain has disrupted a loved one’s grave and they say they can’t seem to get any help.
DARBY, Pa. - A Philadelphia family fears last Sunday’s heavy rain has disrupted a loved one’s grave and they say they can’t seem to get any help.
At the back of the Mt. Zion Cemetery in Darby, Delaware County, at the end of a hill a sinkhole has formed. Nearby, the gravestone of Sean Wilson stands. His family says it doesn’t belong there.
Elizabeth Wilson, Sean’s sister, said, "I see a lot of misplaced graves. He’s not where he normally would be. His stone is not where it should be. His stone is in disarray."
Sean Wilson, just 22 when he died in a shooting in Philadelphia, was buried in 1990, says his family, where the sinkhole is now.
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Several generations of the Wilsons are buried at the cemetery and when family members visited Monday to mark their mother’s birthday, they found a river of water covering Sean’s grave. Elizabeth Wilson said she was confused and couldn’t understand what was going on.
Mt. Zion Cemetery flooding, provided by Wilson Family.
And the water is still flowing. Wilson said when she spoke to a woman in the front office, she agreed there had been flooding and said the owner was hoping for a municipal grant to do something about it.
Mt. Zion Cemetery looks battered, with its sign on its last leg. The front office is weathered and worn, and no one answered when FOX 29 knocked.
The Wilson’s say while they found their mother’s grave, they can’t locate their grandfather’s and they’d like to make a change. "I would move all of them if I could," said Wilson. "This is a disgrace to have our family members' final resting place look like this."
The owner of Mt. Zion Cemetery contacted Fox 29 Wednesday. He says Sean Wilson’s gave has not been disturbed. He says the casket is encased in a cement vault and was not moved by the water.
He says he'll return the stone to its proper position and clear the area of debris placed there by the water.