Man finds mother-in-law dead on Mother’s Day

A man found his mother-in-law dead on Mother’s Day after his family went to visit her Sunday for lunch.

The woman was hit by a car that fled the scene, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

"I don't know what to say. It's one of those ways you don't expect to spend Mother's Day," Cleghorn told WBMA. "I've been in the family for 25 years so she is like another mother to me."

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Cleghorn took his family to visit Helen Duke, 75, for lunch. But she wasn’t at the door to greet everyone when they arrived. The family started looking around the property for her.

Eventually, Cleghorn looked toward the mailbox and saw one of her black shoes at the edge of the road.

"Accidents do happen, but you know, hit and run is a totally different thing and she deserved something better than being left in the ditch," Cleghorn told WIAT.

Officials believe the suspect vehicle is a Ford model that could be missing the passenger sideview mirror.

"She's going to be missed. This was home. All my kids came up and hung out. This was grandma's house," Cleghorn told WIAT. "Everybody wants to go to Grandma's house. And we'll see what happens from there. It's still going to be grandma's house and she's not going to be here."

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