Woman sent her mother’s ashes to family in Jacksonville, remains are now lost

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Amy Redford said she mailed her mother’s cremated remains through the USPS to her sister in Jacksonville on Sept. 9.

The only way someone can legally send cremated remains is through the United States Postal Service, but after an address mix-up, the delivery never got to the woman’s sister.

Now the ashes are lost.

Kathryn Mays died nine years ago and was cremated. Two weeks ago, Redford mailed her mother’s remains from Louisville to her sister in Jacksonville.

Redford says she regrets the decision.

“It could be anywhere, anywhere in the city at this point,” Redford said.

Redford sent the remains to an address her sister recently moved from. Redford says the person living there did receive the package.

“According to what I am told, she never opened it, but left it outside her porch,” Redford said.

Action News Jax went to the address where the package was sent but it was gated.

Action News Jax emailed the post office about the investigation into the search for May’s remains.

USPS gave Action News Jax this response:

"The Postal Service always strives to provide the best possible service to our customers. In this instance, we first wish to offer our condolences to the family and a sincere apology for the unintended delay in delivering this important package that was mailed on September 9. We are keenly aware of the sensitivity of this matter and are focused on ensuring the package is located as quickly as possible. The Postal Service is taking every possible step to resolve this issue. We have been in contact with the customer and will continue to reach out to them regularly to provide updates. We regret that the package has not yet been located, but we will continue our vigilance to resolve the matter.

The Postal Service has a number of resources available to assist customers with properly shipping cremated remains. Customers can visit our website for more information. There is a special kit available specifically designed for shipping cremated remains, which can be ordered here: usps.com Postal Store. In addition, the USPS YouTube channel has a video showing customers how to properly ship cremated remains https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a1sgiwhPdY"

“This is my mother’s body, it’s not like it’s a package of jewelry, it can’t be replaced,” Reford said.

Consumed with guilt, Redford has called landfills in Jacksonville, and is in constant contact with the post office but says she is losing hope.

“I worry that she is going to end up in some trash heap …or some landfill,” Redford said.

Cox Media Group