Kobe Bryant mourners visit wrong gravesite as mystery surrounds final resting place
Basketball
By
Mirror
| Feb 22, 2020
Hundreds of mourners looking to pay their respects to Kobe Bryant have been visiting the wrong gravesite, according to a cemetery in California.
Bryant died in a helicopter crash last month alongside his daughter Gianna and seven others, prompting an outpouring of tributes to the NBA legend.
Many fans have descended on Pacific View Memorial Park over the last few days following a report that it was the final resting place of the LA Lakers icon.
However, the cemetery in Corona del Mar, California, has insisted that the gravesite fans have been visiting was incorrectly identified as Bryant's and that it belongs to another family.
A spokesperson for Pacific View told The Sun: "As part of our commitment to all families, we guard their privacy and do not discuss specific matters with the media.
"However, we can confirm that a photo circulating on certain websites is not the final resting place of Kobe and Gianna Bryant."
The individual added: "We ask that the public respect the privacy of the family whose loved one is interred at the pictured location."
According to USA Today, flowers being left for Bryant and Gianna are being frequently being cleared out from the private plot while security around the cemetery has been increased as a result of the confusion.
A security guard working at the cemetery reportedly told the publication that around 400 people visited the gravesite last weekend.
It has been suggested that the presence of yellow and purple flowers at the unmarked gravesite in question - mirroring the Lakers' colours - contributed to the confusion, but a spokesperson told USA Today that the colour scheme was just a coincidence.
It is latest confusion surrounding Bryant's final resting place, with the exact location still unknown.
A death certificate released last week stated that the five-time NBA Champion and his daughter had been buried at Pacific View Memorial Park during a private funeral on February 7.
However, both publications report that it initially listed Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles as the burial site, before a correction was later issued.
Meanwhile, a memorial service for both Bryant and his daughter will be held on Monday, 24 February at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where he represented the Lakers during the whole of his 20-year career.