Casket mysteriously buried and adorned on woman's property next to cemetery in Crosby, HCSO says

CROSBY, Texas (KTRK) -- A land owner found a full-size casket buried on her property in Crosby, and now Harris County Sheriff's Office investigators are looking into how it ended up there.

The casket was found in the 500 block of Barrett Road by sheriff's office investigators and Texas EquuSearch, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

There is a cemetery next to the site where the casket was found, but Gonzalez said a cemetery representative confirmed all of its plots were accounted for, and the mound was not a misplaced grave.

The land owner, who has been identified by the sheriff's office as Mrs. Soza, told deputies that her family bought the 1.5-acre tract of land, which is next to the Barrett Station Evergreen Cemetery, back in March of 2021.

Then in November of 2021, the family noticed a fresh mound of dirt in a corner of their property, adjacent to the cemetery, deputies said. Months later, on June 19, 2022, the family saw two ornamental wrought iron posts with a lantern jar and fresh flowers sitting on the mound.

After consulting with a cemetery representative, the Sozas confirmed the mound was indeed on their property.

Mrs. Soza said she placed a note on the latern, asking the family responsible to contact her but has not gotten a response.

Authorities believe the casket was buried sometime between 2011 and 2021.

Gonzalez said someone might have put the casket there without permission and without the loved ones' knowledge.

Authorities have not dug up the area but have placed paint markings around the mound where the alleged grave is sitting. It is unknown if a body is inside.

"Hopefully, someone is going to come forward and say, 'That's my loved one,' and this can be taken care of in a much simpler manner because otherwise, it's going to take a lot of paperwork and probably signed off by a judge to just drive out here and start digging," Mark Edwards, a coordinator for Texas EquuSearch, said.

If you know any information regarding this incident, you are urged to contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office Homicide Unit at 713-274-9100.

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