‘Your dad’s grave is empty’: Woman distraught after learning father’s remains not in Winnipeg cemetery

A woman had her father’s remains exhumed in Winnipeg for a reinterment but discovered an empty grave. Michelle Gerwing reports.

Elizabeth Patrick never knew her father. Her parents divorced when she was very young in England. After more than a decade of searching, she found out her father, Sgt. Gordon Alexander Patrick, was a Royal Air Force Glider Pilot in the U.K.

He eventually moved to Canada in 1956.

“I’ve been able to check census records. He was in Saskatchewan, he was in Winnipeg and Alberta,” says Patrick, who now lives in England.

Patrick’s father died in 1973 in Winnipeg and was buried at the Green Acres Funeral Home & Cemetery. He was laid to rest in an unmarked grave.

Once she had the information of where her father’s remains were, she wanted to move him next to her son, who was also in the military and is buried in Burlington, Ont. He died in 2022.

She began the process of getting her father’s remains disinterred from the cemetery in Winnipeg last year, and after six months, it was approved.

“I have been working on this for so long,” she said. “I was so excited for it to come to fruition.”

But that excitement quickly turned to shock and grief. When cemetery workers started digging earlier this week, they realized the plot was empty.

“I didn’t in my wildest dreams think that he was going to tell me your dad’s grave is empty,” she said, “I didn’t think that.”

Patrick adds that the entire experience was “totally unexpected.”

“When you’re met with something that is unexpected like that, you don’t react until after the fact.”

Cemetery is ‘actively conducting’ explorations

CTV News reached out to the cemetery to get some clarification of what has transpired in this situation. In a statement, Green Acres Funeral Home and Cemetery says they are “aware of the concerns raised and are in communication with the family to explore every possible solution.”

The statement goes on to say the owners of the cemetery, Service Corporation International, did not own the property back in the 70s.

“Given the age of the burial, the historical records that have been passed down to us may be incomplete or inaccurate,” the statement reads.

“Additionally, considering the burial took place during the winter months in Canada—where harsh weather conditions such as snow and frozen ground can impact both the burial process and physical documentation—it’s possible these factors also contributed to the inconsistencies.”

Green Acres says they “remain fully committed to supporting the family and working toward a resolution with compassion, transparency, and respect.”

Patrick is happy to see there is progress being made to find her father. She says it’s not only important to find the remains, but eventually put her father next to her son.

“When we’re gone, they’ll have each other, and that to me is the most crucial,” she said. “Even though my son never met his granddad, they will be together long after and for eternity when we are gone.”