Dad’s body left unburied in sweltering heat for 3 days at Utah gravesite, family says
A 78-year-old man’s casket was left unburied for days at a Utah cemetery as temperatures soared, his family told multiple news outlets.
Lawrence Raymond Escarciga’s body was supposed to be buried on Friday, June 10, at the Midvale City Cemetery, his daughter Jodie Keller told KSL-TV.
But when his daughter came back to his grave later that night, it only had temporary coverings, the outlet reported.
The family began calling city offices and the cemetery, though no one answered until Sunday, KUTV reported. The city said they would fill in the grave that Monday — three days after Escarciga was supposed to be buried, the outlet reported.
Over that weekend, temperatures neared 100 degrees.
“It’s absolutely disgraceful and heartbreaking,” Keller told KSL-TV. “This was the final thing that needed to take place and Midvale City failed us.”
The city said the mistake happened because of staffing issues. Employees who don’t typically handle funerals were working the day the family’s father was being buried, KSTU reported.
“I cannot express enough how badly we feel for the family,” Midvale City Manager Matt Dahl told the outlet. “This was a mistake that has never happened before, should have never happened this past weekend. And we are taking steps to make sure that it never happens again.”
Midvale is about 12 miles south of Salt Lake City.
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Dad’s body left unburied in sweltering heat for 3 days at Utah gravesite, family says."
