Dallas man seeks abandoned grave markers' families

A Dallas man who found a stack of grave markers discarded in a random field wants to get them to their rightful owners.

Matt Burt made the disturbing discovery in a grassy area near Jupiter and Interstate 635 in North Dallas. He found the four metal gravesite markers inscribed with names, birth and death dates. 

"They were all tossed here but they were all face up,” Burt said.

Burt says the police department offered to put them in lost and found, but he declined. He tried doing a basic internet search using the names.

"It’s so vague, really couldn't find anything,” Burt said.

The death dates for the markers range from 1979 to 1987. The names: Ola D. Davis, Allen Johnson, James Robertson and Lawrence Bables.

"I'm hoping to get them back to the rightful owners, family members and let them put them back where they belong,” Burt said.

FOX4 found a record for one of the names, Lawrence Bables. It’s connected to Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Pleasant Grove. A staff member there confirmed he is buried at the site, but their records show Bables' grave has never had a marker.

The mystery is all-consuming for Burt. He's hanging on to the four heavy name plates in hopes of getting them where they belong.

“Nobody else seems to care,” Burt said.