Austin’s Daily Commentary – January 19, 2024

Austin Rhodes: It's a heartbreaking mystery and an exasperating set of answers back from the management of Hillcrest Cemetery. Cameron Hickman buried his six month old daughter, Jada Hickman, at the cemetery some 23 years ago. He was a Fort Gordon soldier who was here on a temporary assignment. The child had passed away while they were on duty in Germany.

Bottom line, they picked a local cemetery for their child's final resting place and in the process just recently, of attempting to move those remains closer to family who now live out of town. Hillcrest Cemetery says they have lost the body. Well, they've they've at least lost the crypt in the casket that the body is buried in as well. That seems a little strange to anyone who knows how cemeteries are supposed to operate and how bodies are supposed to be buried.

And again, no answers are forthcoming. The management of the company is kind of climbing into a hole. The out of town management and the local folks are left without much of an explanation. There have been some very, very strange and bizarre stories that have come from those who apparently either know or who themselves formerly worked at that cemetery. And the bottom line, that company needs to be far more cooperative with the family of Jada Hickman than they have been, and certainly more cooperative with the authorities locally trying to get to the bottom of it.

There have been disturbing allegations about Hillcrest made in the past. I would urge anyone doing business with that place, or most definitely, those who have family buried there, to be very attuned to what's going on here, monitor the situation and perhaps check on the state of the crypts and the and and the gravesites of any family that you've got out there.

Again, a heartbreaking situation and incredibly frustrating for the family of that little bitty girl trying to allow that their loved one to finally rest in peace where she belongs. Very, very sad and incredibly frustrating. Say a prayer for those folks and let's hope that Hillcrest gets their act together. And that's the comment, I'm Austin Rhodes, AM 580/95.1 FM News Talk WGAC.