Father's Cremated Remains Lost in Transit, With Son Demanding Answers From USPS

A local family is left demanding answers from the United States Postal Service after the cremated remains of a loved one weren’t delivered to a funeral home this month.

Colin McGuire says that his father, who died last year, was supposed to be laid to rest next to his grandmother last week, but that did not happen.

“If losing your dad isn’t enough, try having your dad pass away and then you know losing his remains, it’s a terrible feeling,” he said.

McGuire, who lives in California, shipped his father’s remains through the USPS on May 11, and says he didn’t have any second thoughts about the process.

“This is the only option that I had other than to fly,” he said. “This is what the funeral homes recommend you do now.”

The remains were scheduled to arrive two days later, but never made it to the funeral home in Arlington Heights.

“This is not an Amazon package. This is a human being’s remains, and it’s been treated like it’s a lost Amazon Prime package,” he said.

McGuire says he filed a report with USPS and its consumer’s office. The tracking information shows the package was initially scanned, but nothing occurred after that.

“They don’t know who picked it up. They don’t know where it went,” he said. “They don’t know if it went to an exchange facility.”

The postal service says it is doing everything in its power to find the remains, saying in a statement:

“We first wish to offer our condolences to the McGuire family and a sincere apology for the unintended delay in delivering this important package. We are keenly aware of the desire to locate the parcel as soon as possible. We are committed to an ongoing search and will work to resolve this matter.”

McGuire says he has contacted several members of Congress to see if they can offer any assistance, but is also calling on USPS employees to help him.

“I just want the headquarters and anyone with authority to help me find him,” he said. “I just want him back. That’s it.”