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Volunteer helps woman locate her mother’s gravesite after 30 years

Posted at 5:27 PM, Feb 28, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-28 17:27:00-05

RICHMOND, Va. -- Tamme Haskins has been searching for her mother’s grave for decades, but one thing she could not do was give up.

“I thought it was going to be easy. I mean this has been years since we started looking,” said Haskins.

CBS 6 recently introduced viewers to the 48-year-old who has been searching for her mother Franiceaka Haskin’s gravesite at Evergreen Cemetery for 30 years.

Tamme was only eight years old when her mother died. Her aunt used to take her to the gravesite, but she has been unable to located it since her aunt’s death.

Tamme

Heartbroken and desperate to find answers, Tamme contacted the CBS 6 Problem Solvers.

One viewer reached out after researching Tamme’s mom name and discovered she wasn’t actually buried in Evergreen Cemetery like Tamme thought.

She was actually buried at the East End Cemetery right next door.

John Shuck says he knows the cemetery like the back of his hand. He has spent countless hours over the past five years with other volunteers restoring the historic African American cemetery.

Thanks to his GPS mapping system, Shuck was able to lead Tamme to her mom’s final resting spot.

“I can get this down to ten feet accuracy,” Shuck said, holding his handy GPS.

“After talking to her, where that orange flag is, I think that is the probable the location of her mother’s grave,” said Shuck.

“The only thing I could remember is it was at the very beginning, the entrance,” Tamme recalled.

Tamme and other family members who met John recently at the cemetery were thrilled to find the answer they’ve been looking for.

Now they can put a headstone to permanently mark Franiceaka Haskins’ grave and have peace in their hearts at last.

CBS 6 News is working for you. Click here to email a tip to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers. Be sure to leave us your name, phone number and detailed description of the problem. You can also leave a message by calling 804-254-3672.

Need help? Contact the CBS 6 Problem Solvers.

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