For 70 years, a mystery stranger had been leaving flowers and poems at her brother's grave

Karl Smith's life may have been short-lived, but 70 years later, people still remember the sweet 12-year-old boy. Karl was Ann Kear's brother, who passed away due to a drowning accident in 1947. Over the years, Karl's family had been tending to and leaving flowers at his grave. However, they were not the only ones. A few mysterious flowers have popped up since, sometimes with a handwritten note or a poem. Now, at 77 years old, Ann has been searching for the person who left these items for her brother. The BBC had been working with Ann since 2015 to track down the mystery person. They finally found him after Camila Ruz, a BBC reporter, joined the search.

A tragic Scouts camping trip

When Karl tragically died, the entire village of Prestbury mourned with his family. Ann remembered her mother receiving hundreds of letters from their neighbors. Ann was just 7 years old when her brother drowned during a Scouts camping trip. Years later, she noticed someone leaving flowers and notes at her brother's grave. "It's either a sprig of holly, sometimes it's been a little sheaf of corn nicely wrapped, and also some words of tribute — quotations from poems. This time, the grave has been tended, and some flowers have been planted," she told BBC News. Curious to find out who it was, she left a note at the site, but never heard back.

Mystery mourner found

Two years after the BBC tried to identify the stranger, Ruz finally discovered who had left the flowers. But the process was not easy. Ruz narrowed down the 'suspects' from the boys Karl went to Scouts with to his schoolmates and the choir. She finally saw something she had missed — the last boy who saw him alive during their camping trip. Ronald Seymour-Westborough from Gloucester, Karl's tent-buddy, was the man who left flowers for his friend, Karl. After arranging a meeting with Ronald, Ann was happy that one part of the puzzle had been solved. 

Poetic mysteries

The other part of the story: Ruz had been in touch with a Durham man who specialized in poetry. He pointed out there was a common theme in the poems. Some were about people who died young, and a few others talked about sailors dying at sea. It seemed like the person who left the poems knew how Karl passed. The expert also pointed out that some of the lines from well-known poems were erased, modifying and personalizing them for Karl. Even though the handwritten notes and poems remain a mystery, Ruz is not giving up her search.

Memories of late loved ones

Death can leave a plethora of questions for surviving members of the family. Ann was lucky to have met Ruz, who introduced her to Ronald Seymour-Westborough, who, in turn, helped answer some of Ann's questions. A YouGov poll conducted on 6,090 Americans found that 47% regret not recording or documenting conversations with their late loved ones. So far, only 33% have recorded a conversation to preserve their loved one's memory. But even if Ann had wanted to do the same, she was too young to realize how valuable her time with her brother was.

A 'good friend' for 60 years

Several people in the comments were happy that Ann finally had some answers to her questions. A few others shared similar stories about their own personal loss. @tomaszstarling commented, "I'm a paramedic, and I sometimes go to the grave of a patient I couldn't save. I can say sorry." @thenaification wrote, "My brother died last year. Sometimes I found flowers on his grave. And it feels honored to know that someone loves your loved one as much as you do."

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