I came across this.. the link above no longer works
http://iacpinc-org.dbprginc.org/pileofbones.htm
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008
news-journalonline.com
EAST VOLUSIA
December 03, 2008
Pile of bones found at Daytona cemetery
By LYDA LONGA
Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- Lured by the weed and cactus-infested grounds of Mount Ararat cemetery, local landscaper Donny Paytas decided to drive into the 6-acre resting place of many of the area's oldest families to check out the possibilities for his business.
But the 31-year-old Paytas left the ancient cemetery feeling sick, not because he was overwhelmed by the landscaping, but because he stumbled upon a pile of bones police believe could be human.
"I found a leg bone, some ribs and a vertebrae," Paytas said Tuesday at the cemetery. "The vertebrae was pretty large."
Investigators and officers who walked among the crumbling tombstones to determine if any graves had been disturbed agreed, saying they believed the remains could be human.
It's the second time in a year that bones were discovered above ground at Mount Ararat. The cemetery is one of few in the area that is supposed to be maintained by the families of the people buried there.
It's also one of few graveyards where bizarre incidents occur, such as graves being disturbed by practitioners of voodoo who have been known to steal the fingers off skeletal remains, said cemetery caretaker Dusty Smith.
"They perform some kind of ritual with the digits," Smith said Tuesday.
In July 2007, some of the bones and teeth of a woman who had just been buried at Mount Ararat were found in the sand by Smith and cemetery volunteer Frank Perrick.
The circumstances behind those remains, however, have an explanation. The bones, which Smith said belong to a woman named Edith Hankerson, were hastily interred by one of two funeral homes authorized to bury at Mount Ararat.
But there is no explanation so far for the bones found by Paytas, because they weren't discovered near any graves. In addition, the three or four graves that the bones were somewhat close to were undisturbed.
"This is definitely new," said Smith, president of the International Association of Cemetery Preservationists and, who along with volunteers, goes to Mount Ararat once a month to work on the restoration of headstones and vaults. "I know this cemetery like the back of my hand and those bones weren't there three weeks ago."
Smith said she can't imagine why someone would disturb a grave and just dump the bones somewhere else in the cemetery. Officers walked around the burial ground, but could not find any vandalized graves.
Paytas said he entered the cemetery Monday morning because he was waiting for his fiancee, who was training for a sales job next door at Daytona Memorial Park and Funeral Home. Being in the landscaping business, he was curious about the appearance of Mount Ararat, with its abundance of weeds, dead trees and pesky prickly pears.
"I was actually looking at a dead tree and I looked over and saw a leg bone," Paytas said. "Then I looked further and saw some ribs and a vertebrae. I went home and I was sick about it."
After a sleepless night thinking about the gruesome discovery, Paytas called Daytona Beach police Tuesday morning.
"I said to myself, 'What if this was one of my relatives?' "
The Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office said a report on the find would be available in about three months.
N-J | Nigel Cook
Daytona Beach Detective J.J. Warren investigates the discovery of bones in a overgrown area of Mount Ararat cemetery in Daytona Beach on Tuesday.
lyda.longa@news-jrnl.com
