Troubleshooters help Mount Airy family with missing grave marker mystery

BALA CYNWYD, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- The Action News Troubleshooters were called to help a family with a mystery involving a missing grave marker.

"My brother was a great uncle, fun to be around. He was always helpful," said Tanya Williams, of Mount Airy. "He was just a good all-around guy who meant the world to us."

Curtis Bell III died suddenly due to a medical condition when he was just 35 years old. His family buried him at a cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Montgomery County and paid $1,600 for a grave marker.

But when they visited his final resting place on his 40th birthday, they couldn't find his plaque.

"We were just walking around, walking around," said Williams. "We're devastated. We paid for a plaque to memorialize our love for our brother, our son, our uncle, and my mother's crestfallen."

The installers showed the family a picture of the marker that was installed, but it was nowhere to be found.

Williams tells the Troubleshooters she reached out to the monument company and the cemetery but tells us she wasn't getting the help she wanted.

"It's hurtful. It's hurtful that the only thing they said to me was something about placing a temporary marker or possibly buying another one. And I'm not willing to do that when we already purchased one," she said.

So Williams contacted the Troubleshooters.

The Troubleshooters contacted both the cemetery and the monument company and finally got answers and action for Curtis Bell's family.

The cemetery believes the marker wasn't placed on a foundation and washed away.

The monument company thinks the marker was either stolen or fell into a nearby grave that was open.

It's still unclear what happened. But after the Troubleshooters got involved, a new marker was ordered at no cost to the Williams family. It should be installed within months.

"I'm grateful. I'm grateful to everyone who's been helpful in this process," she said. "I'm happy about it and I'm grateful that this is coming to an end."

If you'd like help from the Troubleshooters, you can reach out to us by calling our Call for Action volunteers at 1-866-978-4232. They answer the phones Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

You can also submit your issue online.