Recent Rains Wash Out Headstones At Mustang Cemetery

A Mustang woman said she is on a mission to protect her son's memory.

Linda Howell said someone has repeatedly vandalized his grave in Mustang and she is fed up.

Then on a trip to his grave this week, she saw something else just as disturbing – graves getting washed out from the recent rain.

“I started crying, I couldn't get off my knees,” Howell said.

Howell's son, Russell Hable, was murdered three years ago.

She recently discovered someone broke off the metal vases and the wooden cross, then someone sprayed something on his headstone.

“They were all scattered and broken, flowers and it really hurt me, it hurt me really bad,” Howell explained.

She said there is no telling who might be vandalizing the grave, but she would love to see a law requiring security cameras at cemeteries.

The Mustang Cemetery Association is the volunteer group that maintains the cemetery.

Friday, their biggest concern was the rain causing graves to cave in, headstones to sink and holes that reveal caskets.

Some of the worst off were veteran's graves with Memorial Day around the corner.

“It really hurt me to see someone who fought for our country, for his grave to look like that,” Howell told News 9.

The head volunteer, Ervin Mitchell, said he is waiting for a break in the rain to repair the graves.

“We are doing the very best we can,” Mitchell said, as he asked for patience. “We've worked at it trying to keep our cemetery looking the best in the county,” he added.

The cemetery association is spending most of its money buying dirt and rain gear to fix the muddy mess.

“People are just going to have to realize that we can only do so much,” Mitchell explained.

Howell said she just wants the graves well-kept and protected.

“Somebody has to be a voice for these people,” Howell added.

Mitchell said he hopes to be at the cemetery Saturday and Sunday to replace the washed out dirt in time for Memorial Day.