When Barb Lintzenich-Herbert went to Oak Grove Cemetery in St. Charles to lay her younger brother to rest, she thought the hard part would be saying goodbye. Instead, she says she found a freshly buried stranger occupying a space in the family plot. The discovery, she says, blew up the funeral plans and launched a stressful search for how cemetery records could show someone else in a grave her family believed was theirs. The dispute has since triggered an administrative review and an unresolved insurance claim against the city.
According to a report from FOX 2, Lintzenich-Herbert learned about the mix-up when she arrived at Oak Grove ahead of her brother’s burial and saw that the center of the family plot was already occupied. City and family records show a burial there dating back to 1980. City officials told the station they traced the discrepancy to the 1980 interment of John Lintzenich and that the person who should originally have been buried in the correct spot was later moved to that intended location. The city offered to relocate Lintzenich-Herbert’s parents within the family plot to their originally planned spots, but she declined. Instead, she filed an insurance claim that, according to the report, is still pending.
City Says Cemetery Mix-Up Looks Like One-Off Error
City Director of Administration Larry Dobrosky told FOX 2 that officials “believe the issue is isolated” and said the city has since adopted new cemetery-management software to tighten up record-keeping. Oak Grove Cemetery is owned and operated by the City of St. Charles, which maintains burial records and on-site staff. City officials say their investigation is finished and that corrective steps, including relocating the misplaced interment, have already been carried out.
Burial Blunders Have Happened Elsewhere
This kind of mistake is rare but not unheard of. In Georgia, a TV investigation found that a widow discovered a stranger buried in the plot next to hers, a spot she says she had already purchased. The local station reported that cemetery officials had to rely on old deed books and physical site probes to sort out who belonged where. WRDW noted that some states have formal complaint processes families can use when something seems off.
In Missouri, Chapter 214 of the Revised Statutes governs how cemeteries are licensed and how records must be kept, and it grants oversight authority to the state’s Division of Professional Registration, which can come into play if families pursue administrative remedies. Revisor of Missouri
What Comes Next For The Family & Other Grieving Families
Lintzenich-Herbert says she is standing by her decision to refuse the city’s offer to move her parents’ remains and instead plans to keep pressing her unsettled insurance claim while she considers legal options.
For other families, experts generally suggest starting with paperwork: gather deeds, contracts and maps, then contact cemetery management as quickly as possible if something looks wrong. If that does not resolve the issue, families can reach out to the state division that regulates cemetery operators and explore formal complaint or administrative routes.
Oak Grove Cemetery’s office is listed through the City of St. Charles, which provides contact information for families seeking burial records or looking to follow developments in this case. City of St. Charles
