Woman Said Father's Cremated Remains Were Lost in Mail for Days

An Ohio woman said her father's cremated remains were lost in the mail after United States Postal Service (USPS) misplaced them.

Angela Johnson, 51, waited for the cremated remains of her father Thomas Moffet for three days, WCMH reported.

After her father's death in New York City in April, her uncle held onto the ashes for a memorial before mailing them to her a month later on May 16.

"On May 16th, my uncle put him in the mail—and they lost him," she told WCMH.

When cremated remains are shipped domestically by USPS, they are required to be shipped as Priority Mail Express which provides next-day to two-day delivery. USPS also requires packages containing cremated remains to include a Label 139 on all four sides of the box.

USPS is the only entity that is legally able to ship human or animal remains.

But when the package finally arrived, Johnson said a substitute carrier was working. She said the carrier allegedly carried the box upside down before dropping it on her front porch, although the box was marked in orange labels that said "Cremated Remain," WCMH reported.

"The young man came up onto the porch and had him upside down, and dropped him on the porch," she told WCMH.

USPS later admitted that the package was delivered two days later than the guaranteed delivery date because it was misrouted, recovered, and redelivered, WCMH reported.

A USPS spokesman told Newsweek that local management plans on contacting Johnson to discuss issues she had with the delivery of her father's ashes.

"The Postal Service apologizes to Ms. Johnson for the concern she and her family have experienced during this difficult time," a spokesperson said. "The package was misrouted, recovered, and delivered two days after the guaranteed delivery date. Local management will be in touch with Ms. Johnson to express our condolences and discuss any issues she has with delivery of the cremains."

In New Jersey, a man solved a 75-year-old mystery after he received several letters in the mail that were not addressed to him. After reading the letters, he discovered that they were from a young couple writing home to the house their parents used to reside.

In April, a New York woman and her cousin received several postcards written by her late mother and dated back to 1960.

"I think human connection is so precious these days, and though I absolutely believe there is an explanation to this mystery," the cousin told Newsweek. "It is also such a gift from the universe (and USPS) to receive these postcards from the past, from our loved ones who have been gone for many years."

Another woman in Michigan received a postcard in the mail dating back to October 29, 1920.

A USPS spokesperson said it is unlikely that the letter was lost in the mail. They said it is more likely that someone came across the postcard recently and decided to send it out.

Update 5/31/22, 2:32 p.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from a USPS spokesperson.