Family discovers damage to graves at Bonita Springs Cemetery

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. —

A family visiting Bonita Springs Cemetery discovered a casket-sized hole loosely covered by plywood where their father was exhumed, along with damage to their grandmother's grave located next to it.

Alyssa Smith said her father and grandmother used to rest side by side at the cemetery.

"It was nice to be able just to go there. His mother's grave is right next to his, well, was," Smith said.

She described the visits as meaningful moments to honor their memories.

"It was nice just to be able to go and just visit them, put little decorations on their graves and just be able to just go there and have memories," Smith said.

Connor Chetwin, a close friend of Smith's father, said he was shocked by what he saw during a recent visit.

"Everybody in Bonita knew the guy. They loved the guy. And I'd stop by, you know, visit him at his grave," Chetwin said.

He added, "There was stuff on his memory of him and, then yesterday I was driving by, I saw the plywood came by and, he was gone."

Smith said Shikany's Bonita Funeral Home manages the cemetery and she has made multiple calls seeking answers.

"When I asked if they knew of the damage and knew what was there, they said, no, they don't, follow back up with their third party. They left a broken shovel on site. They left a big hole just covering a hole where my father was with plywood. They left a big hole in my grandmother's grave," Smith said.

Family and friends gathered at the cemetery in disbelief over the damage.

"I would want them to go back out and at least fix what they did to my grandmother's grave. There's a hole in it," Smith said.

Smith said she will continue to seek answers but is holding on to the memories she has of her father and grandmother.

The funeral home still has not responded to inquiries about the incident, but the family shared with Gulf Coast News that repairs were completed later on Wednesday.

DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.