Video: USPS loses cremated remains of Indiana woman

postal 3 Comments

SEYMOUR, Ind. (WDRB) — First he lost his mother, and now, because of a shocking mistake by the U.S. Postal service, a southern Indiana man has also lost his mother’s remains.

“It’s devastating. It’s sad,” said Donald Mink, an EMT and firefighter from Seymour.When Mink’s mother, Louise, passed away in February, she was cremated, and the family paid the postal service to ship her ashes from North Dakota, where she lived, to her native Indiana. The U.S. Postal Service is the only legal way to ship human remains.

“I just want to lay her to rest in Austin with my grandma and grandpa where she belongs,” Mink said.But when the remains failed to arrive after a couple of weeks, Mink got suspicious.
WDRB 41 Louisville News

Source: Postal service loses cremated remains of Indiana woman – WDRB 41 Louisville News

  • Herculees

    may show up at the non deliverable mail center in atlanta or could have been one a a tractor trailer that burnt if any of them wrecked up that way….IF they show up at the center in atlanta I feel sure they will try to locate you and return them….

  • Lura Baker

    Any one who has worked for the postal service knows that this is not a probable situation unless someone tried to save a few bucks and send their loved one by regular mail with a tracking number, after accepting the remains and the responsibility for them from the funeral home representative. If they did this then they don’t need to pretend they are so upset with what happened to their loved one because apparently they did not care enough to have the person’s remains legally and correctly dealt with. CHEAP The only way to legally send cremated remains of a loved one is for the funeral director to have it properly packaged, proper paperwork, and proper acceptance as Registered mail at the window. It is designated what is inside and each seal on the package is postmarked with the post office and date of acceptance. It is handled with respect and everyone who handles it has to sign for it. It is locked up at all times. In all my years of working for the postal service I have never heard of such an incident and I have accepted many remains from funeral homes, treated them with respect, signed for them and locked them up immediately until the end of my tour when I have someone else sign for it before releasing it. It is never in the main mail stream. A registered package is NEVER placed in the main mail stream whether it be remains or $50,000 dollars worth of diamonds. If a person illegally send grandma as cookies or anything else in the main mail stream then they should be charged with criminal charges.

  • Actually…

    12.9.3 Cremated Remains
    Human ashes (cremated remains) are permitted to be mailed provided they are in a strong and durable container and packaged as required in 9.2. The identity of the con­tents should be marked on the address side. Mailpieces sent to domestic addresses must be sent via Express Mail® or Registered Mail® service.