When Lisa Akin visited her brother’s grave on Tuesday she did not expect to see his vault. 

She had come to check on the grave at Magnolia Cemetery, located at 2638 23rd Avenue in Meridian, after Monday’s storms and found an outline of dirt around the grave washed away. She used a yardstick from her car to find her brother’s vault buried under only 5 inches of dirt. 

“This is how I heal,” Akin said. “Sometimes I just ride through here (and visit).”

Akin’s brother, Earl Akin Jr., died on Sept. 13 and was buried shortly after. Lisa Akin, exploring the cemetery, found a few other recent graves washed out by the rain. Two elderly women, buried on Oct. 6 and Nov. 11, had between 18 inches and two feet of dirt above their graves, significantly more than Earl Jr. 

“This (grave) is washed out worse than my brother but you can’t see their vault,” Akin said. 

There is no state-wide minimum for burial in Mississippi. The city of Oxford has a minimum of 24 inches of dirt from the top of the grave box, vault or burial chamber to ground level. Most other minimums in the country range from 18 inches to 24 inches. 

Meridian does not have a minimum. 

According to Jay Crane, a licensed funeral director with James F. Webb Funeral Homes, said this sort of sinking is common among graves, especially after rain. 

“All graves shortly after (burial) are going to settle,” Crane said. “That’s being addressed and will be fixed for this family.”

Crane said William Arlinghaus, owner of Magnolia Cemetery, is out of town. 

“We’re taking care of this for that family,” Crane said.

Magnolia Cemetery is one of two cemeteries owned by Arlinghaus that the Mississippi Secretary of State is seeking receivership for due to past neglect.

The state took action against Arlinghaus in June, after receiving complaints about overgrown grass, graves in need of attention and footstones paid for but never received. 

The state requested an injunction for the neglect at Magnolia Cemetery and Meridian Memorial Park Cemetery, at 9590 Old Highway 80 W, and were granted that injunction in August. 

Arlinghaus still maintains and buries the dead at the two cemeteries but must report weekly to the state under the injunction. 

A court date for the state to gain receivership of the cemeteries has been set for Jan. 10. 

Arlinghaus could not be reached for comment. 

“I am someone who finds closure and peace (visiting his grave) and I had to see that,” Akin said. “It just breaks my heart.”