Carson cemetery closes without notice, grieving family members seek answers

LOS ANGELES - A local cemetery's gates are locked indefinitely, and Carson residents want answers.

Yolanda and her sister Nada Rafael buried their father at Lincoln Memorial Park last January, but they say they are still waiting for a grave marker. When the two called to find out where he was located, no one from the cemetery could be reached.

"My father died, and I want him to be buried in peace," said Rafael.

While the exact date of Lincoln Memorial's closure is unclear, locals say the gates were locked sometime after July 4. They say the grounds have not been properly maintained, as dead grass and weeds permeate the existing grave sites.

Assemblyman Mike Gibson is working to get the gates reopened, but it is unclear when, or if, the cemetery will begin operating normally again.

"The main thing is for us to see our loved ones," said Aisha Woods, who has relatives buried on the grounds.

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Locals continue to pressure government officials. Leshunda Brown says she wrote five certified letters to the Federal Cemetery Bureau in hopes of protecting her son's final resting place.

"This is not respectable at all," said Brown, "we need answers."

Carson has no jurisdiction over, what could be, an abandoned cemetery, and there is no clear information from the state bureau that does oversee cemeteries.

While visitors do still have access to the grave sites, no one is available in the cemetery's offices to answer questions about the status of the grounds. The owner of Lincoln Memorial Park cemetery could not be reached for comment.