Remains of a woman mysteriously disappears from her grave

There is a most unusual incident to report tonight. It happened in the village of Douglas in the Orange Walk District last week. Felipa Sanchez died at the age of eighty-seven back in 1994…so if you do the math, that is twenty years ago. But her family tonight is deeply disturbed that her tomb has been desecrated and her remains exhumed. While police have been called in to investigate, the family is perplexed as to who and why anyone would want to unearth the remains of their loved one. Duane Moody has this story.

FOR VIDEO CLICK HERE.

Duane Moody, Reporting

Felipa Sanchez…her body was laid to rest here at Campo: Jardin de Descanso (Garden of Rest) in the village of Douglas in Orange Walk approximately twenty years ago, on November fourth, 1994. But the tomb in which her body was placed was broken into and her remains are missing. From what we were able to gather, sometime around three a.m. on Tuesday, a loud bang was heard coming from the cemetery but a resident thought nothing of it. It was not until four days later that the discovery was made.

Albertico Alamilla

Albertico Alamilla, Grandson

“We were doing community service—painting the community center of Douglas—when my old lady received a phone call that my granny tomb was broken. So I gone pick her up in a my truck and when we reach dah burying ground, we see all the cloth outside. So my mommy get so frighten that she said son, take me back home. So I drop her home and I gone pick up the chairman and the police man dan we gone dah burying ground. When we gone there, we sort out the place and we see no bone. All we see dah one…cause when my granny mi dead, my mommy mi put wah white socks on her and only that white sock got wah piece a bone. All the balance of the bone—no skull, no nothing. The dress was right there and you know when they do the coffin, we bought one from Orange Walk, it got cloth inside and it had a cross on top of the cover and only that you see.”

It is the first time that the village has experienced such an incident and for the family, it is surreal because Sanchez died at the age of eighty-seven, twenty years ago. Seventy-seven year old Eulalia Alamilla says she doesn’t know why anyone would want to hurt the family like this.

Eulalia Alamilla

Eulalia Alamilla, Daughter (Translated)

“It hurt me so much because my mother was a saint and she never bothered anyone. She was a poor lady that has been dead for twenty years. They broke the tomb and took all her bones. Why did they want her bones? I think, as her daughter who loved her, god will deal with them because she did not bother anyone. She was sleeping. So why did they have to take her bones? To take it where? If she was someone rich, I could have said that there was something they could rob. But she was a poor woman like I am. Why did they have to do it? For me it is all evil but I expect that god will let them pay; whoever it is. “

Albertico Alamilla

“This dah the first time we see it. We normally do community service at the village; we take care of the burying ground, but this dah the first time we di see something. We more or less find some bones when we dig to bury somebody else, but this is the first time the happen something like this.  More than offensive because I tell you, my mommy di feel it the most because dah ih mother and it’s my grandmother too. And all the village is…some people not even want go sleep again and the worry. I don’t know what will happen.”

An investigation is currently ongoing. But while a motive behind the bizarre occurrence has not been ascertained, the family says that they don’t believe that it was robbery because she was not buried with jewelry or any valuables.

Albertico Alamilla

“I speak to older people of the village and the majority people when dehn use dehn bones dah fi black magic or obeah. But I get to understand in Orange Walk today when I gone and talk to other people dah somebody di buy bones—I don’t know if it is true—of old people.”

Duane Moody

“Do you feel that it is possible that something was hidden in that tomb and that’s why they broke into that tomb?”

Albertico Alamilla

“I noh think so because if that dah mi di case, dehn mi wah left the bones to wah side. But we walk all around the burying ground and we noh find no bones. So dehn goen fi di bones. Dehn neva gone fi hide nothing inside because like weh I tell yo I could show yo some pictures weh I take. They broke the hole and they take the cloth from the coffin and dehn drag it out—they drag it all out and left di tomb empty, empty just like if yo take and sweep it. How you see it today is because we put it in the same Saturday; my son and one of my friends they put on gloves and put everything inside.”

Alamilla says that they are simply waiting for Orange Walk police to come out and do its investigation before they can seal back the tomb. Duane Moody for News Five.