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Man grieved at wrong headstone for 30 years after cemetery mix-up

Posted at 11:21 PM, Aug 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-08 23:21:24-04

MANCHESTER, England – A man in England who’d always visited the grave of the daughter he lost in her infancy multiple times per year was shocked to learn recently that he’d been visiting the wrong cemetery plot.

Per BBC, George Salt lost his daughter, Victoria, just days after her birth in 1988. Twice a year ever since, he’s visited the same headstone to pay his respects to the girl he knew so briefly.

But on a recent trip to Southern Cemetery in Manchester, Salt said he found the grave marker was missing and was “gobsmacked.” Salt said he searched around and was eventually able to find her name moved to another plot.

According to the Independent, cemetery authorities soon revealed that the gravestone had been misplaced in the 1980s and that it was recently moved after a review found the decades-old mistake. Instead of where he believed she was laid to rest all that time, Victoria was actually one of 17 people placed elsewhere in a group grave.

Victoria’s gravestone had reportedly been atop a vacant plot all that time. Salt said he feels “let down” for not having been informed of the discovery when officials became aware.

The Manchester City Council offered its “sincere apologies” to Salt but was unable to determine what mistake in the 1980s led to the mix-up.

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