HAPPY ENDING TO CARY TOMBSTONE MYSTERY

CARY , NC –A century-old tombstone that was lost for two years in Cary has found its way back home to a Raleigh cemetery thanks to a Raleigh man who helped Cary police crack the case.   

The mystery began on April 21, 2004 when Cary Police were called to the Wendy’s restaurant at 1213 NW Maynard Road in Cary where they found a very light gray marble headstone about 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide with a rounded top and a chiseled dove toward the top.  The inscription read:

Elizabeth Carlton, January 11, 1829 - April 1, 1904

Shortly thereafter, investigators contacted local cemeteries, genealogists, and the NC Department of Archives – all with no luck.  The Town of Cary also issued a news release on the mystery, and the release and subsequent media coverage paid off nearly two years later.

On March 1, 2006, Cary Police were contacted by Earl Flannery of the 8000 block of Leesville Road in Raleigh, who found two tombstones while metal detecting near his home.  Both of the tombstones were inscribed with the last name “ Carlton ,” and he also found a footstone with the initials “E.C.”  Remembering Cary ’s “Tombstone Home” case, Flannery contacted Cary Police investigators who found four graves on a family plot – two with headstones missing.  Police were able to make a match between one of the unidentified graves and the tombstone found in Cary in April 2004.  In addition, the names on the tombstones matched the names of the late Elizabeth Carlton’s family.   

“We’re happy to be able to lay this important family matter to rest,” said Cary Police Detective Marcus Pearson.

Anyone with additional information in this matter is encouraged to contact Detective Pearson at (919) 319-4524 or via email at marcus.pearson@townofcary.org.

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