The First Parish Cemetery in York Village is home to graves dating back centuries. Because of the cemetery’s rich history, it’s likely that some graves have gone unmarked throughout the years.
In the south section of the cemetery, the oldest section with graves dating back to the 18th century, an area of grass appears to be less crowded by gravestones than others. There was no known reason as to why that spot was left with so few gravestones — until now.
Cemetery Superintendent Todd Frederick decided he would hire an expert to find out why.
“That area of the cemetery, I don’t have any records of significance and I wanted to know what that gap was all about,” Frederick said.
He got in touch with Bob Perry of TOPOGRAPHIX, a company that uses ground-penetrating radar for various projects. While TOPOGRAPHIX is the name of his company, Perry said he is most recognized by his “Bone Finder — Tracking the Dead” logo.
Surveying the near 22,000 square foot section of land last week, Perry walked slowly with his radar and placed green flags in the ground to show confirmed spots of an unmarked grave. Red flags were placed in spots that he considered to be “high probability” spots of unmarked graves.
After spending two days in the cemetery, Perry found 89 “high probability burials.” Perry noted that it was important he called them burials instead of graves. “We can’t say for sure if it is a grave unless we dig up the remainder, but I am confident that the burial shafts discoveries are in fact graves,” he said.
Perry, a 71-year-old Vietnam War veteran, has been using this technology to find unmarked graves since 1999.
“People would sell a lot of land and then dig only to find someone was already buried there,” Perry said. “So I started redrafting and computerizing old cemetery maps.”
At first glance, Perry’s equipment to find these unmarked burials looks more like a fancy baby stroller. It’s a three-wheeled push cart equipped with radar technology and a digital screen that shows the readings in real time.
The idea to pursue a career related to ground penetrating radar was sparked by what Perry had seen during the war. “I was on river patrol boats, we pulled into a river port and I happened to see guys dragging equipment across the ground. Later on I realized that they were using ground-penetration radar to find enemy cells and bunkers,” Perry said.
Frederick said that he learned about Perry because he frequents the New England Cemetery Superintendents meetings and because Perry travels across the country do to this type of work.
“I’ve done over 300 national cemeteries in my lifetime,” Perry said. “I average about 10 a year now.”
Although most of Perry’s work comes via cemeteries, he also works on cold cases and historical locations, noting that he does a lot of work with the media now as well. One of his media credits involves work on a project titled “The Last Clipper,” a documentary about finding the remains of victims of the hijacking of the Hawaii Clipper in 1938. Using Perry’s technology, the team was able to find human bones that have been sent out for DNA testing. If the tests reveal they are the remains of the passengers, they will have been the first casualties of World War II, according to Perry.
Once Perry’s radar and satellite work is done at the cemetery, he creates a digital map using design software to show each plot of land and every marked and unmarked grave. Perry typically uses a black circle with an X through it to label the unmarked gravestones.
As for a time frame to complete the job, Perry said it takes around half a year.
“Typical projects take about six months from being out there to the draft of the map,” he said.
As soon as Frederick receives the completed maps from Perry, he will be able to know what he can and cannot do on that plot of land.
“Once we get those charts and such, we’ll solve the mystery of what’s going on there,” he said.
Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news.