Grave Mystery in Camden County

A well-tended grave beneath a tree on the Camden County’s Lakeland complex has led to a mystery about how a person came to be buried there.

Investigators in Camden County, N.J. are trying to discover who buried what appear to be cremated human remains under a tree on a hill overlooking the county’s potter’s field. The site of the grave is county property and is not a legal burial site, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities exhumed the remains and are now looking for the family of the deceased.

The grave was spotted by people taking a walk in the area on April 20. Investigators said they found the grave marked with a small cross, a stuffed animal and a statue of a kneeling cherub. There was a mat and fresh flowers at the grave site as well. The items found at the site have led investigators to suspect the person buried there was a child or possibly an infant.

Investigators exhumed the remains and found a cardboard box. Inside the box was a velvet bag with a drawstring that held a ziplock bag filled with ashes from cremated remains. The remains appear to have been properly cremated and handled and at this time there is nothing to indicate this was a suspicious death, according to the prosecutor's office.

The ashes were labeled with a female’s name, but investigators have not been able to find a death certificate for a person of that name, nor identified a crematorium that handled anyone by that name. Investigators are not releasing the name at this time in the hopes the family of this person can be located without their name being publicized.

Investigators left a note at the burial site asking someone to claim the remains, but so far no one has contacted the prosecutor's office. Investigators are asking for the person who tended the grave to provide a death certificate and the name of the crematorium used to confirm that no foul play was involved in the death. With that information, the prosecutor's office said it would be able to release the remains. The Victim Witness Unit will also provide assistance in finding a proper burial site for the remains, according to the prosecutor's office.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Paul Audino at 856-225-8449.
 

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