Detroit woman claims post office lost father's remains
DETROIT (WJBK) - Lillie Patton said after her father passed away, he was cremated and his remains were sent to her via the United States Postal Service. However, she said the remains she was supposed to get didn't arrive.
The heart-shaped box reads 'Daddy's Girl' but it sits empty. It's supposed to be holding the ashes of Patton's father, Jimmie Ward, Jr. but she says the cremated remains were lost in the mail.
"They said that they'll look into it and they couldn't find him. Couldn't find him? What do you mean you can't find him?" Patton said on Monday.
Patton says her father was a bishop and living in Atlanta with his wife. On October 28th, he passed away in his sleep and he was cremated. His remains were put inside of a heart-shaped locket for Patton to wear around her neck.
She says his wife mailed it, sent her a tracking number, and it shows it arrived at Fox Creek post office in Detroit on Nov. 19. The package was stamped with 'cremains' - but when Patton went to get it, she didn't find what she was expecting.
Instead, she said she got different excuses. She said she was told that the address was off by a number and that the carrier went to that address to try and deliver it but said the home appeared vacant.
"It's like me losing him all over again. It's just unfair. It seems like they don't even care," Patton said.
Management at the post office said the address was missing a number so it may have been sent to a different address on the same street. We tracked down that home but they said they never received a package either.
Patton said she's maintaining faith that she'll get the piece of her heart that can never be replaced.
"I'm still going to continue to have faith and believe that he will find me," Patton said. "Return my package, which is my dad, back to me. That's what I'm asking for, that's all I want."
A supervisor at the post office said they promise to track down the package.