Body Found At Infamous Historic Pennsylvania Cemetery By Dog Walker: Officials

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A dog walker made a grim discovery at a historic cemetery in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 26, officials said.

Police, fire crews, and EMS were called to the 1900 block of Lowrie Street around 3 p.m. for reports of an unresponsive male over a hillside, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety.

Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene. Crews were later seen using ropes and a basket to recover the body from the steep terrain, officials said.

The discovery was made near the former Voegtly Evangelical Church Cemetery, a Swiss-German burial ground tied to the now-vanished church in Pittsburgh’s Dutchtown neighborhood. The site contains numerous German Romantic-style monuments and a mass grave holding the remains of more than 700 people moved there during a 1987 highway project, according to the Smithsonian archives.

Archaeologists at the time determined the relocated graves dated back to between 1833 and 1861. The remains revealed difficult living conditions—signs of trauma, infection, tuberculosis, and severe arthritis—as well as evidence of pipe smoking and poor dental health, according to Smithsonian research.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death. The victim has not been publicly identified as of Sunday night.

The city’s Violent Crimes Unit is investigating.