TAYLOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — A mystery in Taylor is unfolding after a headstone surfaced in a grassy field near the Meijer off of Eureka Road. The discovery came Tuesday and led to another unexpected revelation.
Christina Sawyer and her son James say they were leaving work and walking toward the Meijer when they stumbled upon the headstone.
“I go over to Meijer every other day," she told 7 Action News.
James Sawyer said, “There was a headstone laying there, and you could see there were tire marks like someone backed up and dropped it off.”
The headstone belongs to Laura B. Johnson. She was born Aug. 25, 1957 and died June 13, 2007.
Christina Sawyer said, “I don’t know what’s going through people’s head. Like, that’s sick. Why would somebody go and steal a headstone?”
After they reported the discovery to Taylor police, Christina Sawyer’s sister Alice Gauvin posted photos of the headstone on social media hoping to find Johnson’s family or any leads.
7 Action News saw the post and reached out to Gauvin. A number of online searches with Johnson’s information also came up empty.
But the mystery goes a bit deeper. When 7 Action News reached out to the city of Taylor, we learned a second headstone was found in that field.
City Clerk Cindy Bower explained, “The first step was to search city records to see if they perhaps belong at one of our cemeteries. They did not.”
She said Deputy Clerk Sara El-Rifaai did the leg work and reached out to the state of Michigan to check vital records.
“They gave us the information. One of the headstones is actually for babies," Bower explained.
She said the state determined the second headstone for infants Mellanie and John D. Scarlin came from Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield and arrangements are being made for its return.
“And then the other one (belonging to Johnson), (the state of Michigan) had no record of the death. She also reached out to that state of Ohio and they also had no record of the death. So we’re still kind of, one of them is still a mystery," Bower explained.
It's a mystery as to where Johnson’s headstone came from, who took it, dropped it in the field and why.
Sawyer Christina said, “We’re just trying to find the family. I know if it was my family, if it was my loved one that lost their headstone, I would want someone to reach out to try and find us.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Taylor Police Department at 734-287-6611.
