COUNCIL, NC (WWAY) –The Mount Horeb Presbyterian Church and cemetery is nearly 175 years old. In the back of the small white church, sits the plot of a confederate soldier, whose final resting place was desecrated.
“The custodian found a grave that had been dug into. He contacted members of the congregation, who contacted the sheriff office,” Larry Guyton, deputy chief, said.
Guyton said Mt. Horeb Presbyterian Church in Council on Highway 87 called deputies last week and reported someone had dug up part of a Confederate soldier’s grave. Guyton said the person dug about two feet deep into the ground, but not deep enough to unearth the coffin.
“Someone had dug down into a grave. The hole was approximately three by three and about two feet deep,” Guyton said.
He said it didn’t look like anything was taken and says it is an isolated incident. Guyton wouldn’t say whether he thought zeroing in on a confederate grave was a political statement. He said he would expect an incident like this would happen closer to Halloween.
“It usually happens around Halloween, on Halloween night was a particular time when we would expect to get a report like that,” Guyton said.
WWAY’s Basil John reached out to the church who said they didn’t want to comment. They did say they were upset about what happened.
It is illegal to desecrate a confederate grave. If the damage caused more than $1,000, that would result in a felony.