Child's Gravestone Found At New Jersey Bus Station
NUTLEY, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police are trying to figure out how a child's gravestone ended up at a bus station in northern New Jersey.
A maintenance worker found the headstone at the NJ TRANSIT Bus Terminal in Nutley on Wednesday.
The headstone is engraved with the name Max Ferreira. The date of birth is June 16, 1990 and the 8-year-old died on Sept. 29, 1998.
It is still sitting on a table in the Nutley Police Department's Detective Bureau, but the good news is tips have been pouring in to police.
Child's Gravestone Found At Nutley Bus Terminal
"Since we put it out on Facebook and to our local press, we have been overwhelmed by callers that are lending assistance," Detective Sgt. Anthony Montanari told WCBS 880's Levon Putney.
The callers include "funeral directors and average citizens that have been to cemeteries that had similar grave-markers," Montanari said.
It is unclear how long the headstone had been at the terminal before it was discovered "in a brush-area," Montanari said.
Police can only speculate that the headstone was removed from a grave, Police Chief Thomas Strumolo said.
"If this was the loss of a child his parents must have been devastated, and to learn that someone would intentionally remove his headstone is unnerving," Mayor and Police Director Alphonse Petracco said in a statement. "I hope that someone can identify where this occurred so that we can return it to where it belongs."
Detectives have been checking with cemeteries in the area. They hope someone will recognize the name and contact police at 973-284-4940.
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