SALISBURY, Md-When you lose a loved one--some say the grief never ends. But for some families on Delmarva--they're facing their grief all over again.
Families who own graves at Wicomico Memorial Park say mementos and other items were removed from the graves of their loved ones, with no prior notice.
The items are now piled behind the cemetery's office building, waiting to be disposed of. The cemetery says it is apart of their Spring clean-up, and that all families were notified prior to the removal of items.
But some families say they were caught off guard, and now their items are trash.
Hannah Tyler is one of those people trying to make sense of it all. She lost her son Lucas when he was only three months old. That was four and a half years ago, the pain does not get easier, Tyler says.
"He fought really hard, he had liver failure. We've had stuff on his gravestone for 4 and a half years, and all of a sudden it's not there anymore. I mean he had his little stuffed lion that he had in the hospital, that was up there."
Hannah's family called baby Lucas, "Lucas the Lion" for his strength, because he was expected to die sooner than he did.
Now items that showed his strength are no more. Families say the lack of communication is the problem, not the rules.
Debra Fitzgerald says her mother, father, and many other loved ones are buried at Wicomico Memorial Park. She says, "I usually leave a flower, or something like that, you know. It's hard, it's very hard."
Fitzgerald said she was able to find the items placed for her father behind the cemetery's office. She says "It's heartbreaking when you have to root through stuff to find your parent's name, you know, and yesterday was my grandmother's birthday, and she has no flowers on her grave."
There are many other families who shared similar stories on Facebook, and the pile of trash behind the cemetery's office was considerable.
But a cemetery spokesperson says signs are posted at their sites and they always have the right to throw away items that are old or interfere with lawn maintenance. They said all families are notified of this.
In a statement to WBOC they said:
Wicomico Memorial Park's mission is to help families memorialize every life with dignity, including providing and maintaining a tranquil and beautiful place for memorialization. Each Spring, we conduct a clean-up of the park. A sign notifying families and visitors of this clean-up can be seen at the entrance to the park. Our rules & regulations are provided to each family when they purchase plots and copies are available on request at our front desk. In some instances, certain items may be removed mistakenly and we encourage our families to reach out to us in that event. We want to reassure our families and the local community that we are committed to serving them and their loved ones.
But some families say they have gone through their paperwork, never saw signs, and were not informed.
"No we didn't see nothing, we didn't get a letter, a phone call, that's what really hurt the most," Tyler said.
Families say they would have appreciated more direct communication to avoid items near and dear to their hearts thrown out.