WASHINGTON — A Washington D.C. family had plans to hold a memorial service for a loved one Friday, but her remains never showed up in the mail.
D.C. native Chardon Funderburk died at 51-years-old on June 12, 2009, according to her niece and Rhania Reeves of Northeast.
After Funderburk's death, she was cremated and her funeral was held in Suitland, Md., but many members of the family were unable to attend. Following the service, her son brought her ashes to San Diego.
Thirteen years after Funderburk's death, Reeves decided to honor her late aunt with a service many members of the family would be able to attend.
“I wanted to give her a proper memorial service here,” Reeves said in an interview with WUSA9.
The memorial cost around $4,000 to plan and it was set to happen Friday.
Earlier this week, a cousin of Reeves who resides in San Diego mailed Funderburk’s remains, via the U.S. Postal Service to the District. Reeves received a USPS alert Tuesday that said that the package containing Funderburk’s ashes had been scanned and delivered to her apartment building in Northeast D.C.
But Reeves said the alert was wrong. No package had arrived at her residence.
“I never thought something like this would happen,” she said. “No, this is like my worst nightmare.”
Reeves reported the missing package to USPS and the agency checked the cameras at the apartment building to see if a postal carrier had come by with the package at the time the alert said it was delivered. According to Reeves, the footage showed Funderburk’s remains had not actually been delivered to Reeves’ apartment.
“What are we supposed to do now?” she asked. “We're out of money for a memorial service. My mom is grieving.”
USPS spokesperson Tom Ouellette told WUSA9 in a statement Funderburk’s remains have not been found, but the search for the ashes is continuing.
“First and foremost, the Postal Service offers our deepest condolences to the customer,” Ouellette wrote. “We will contact the customer and understand the family’s desire to locate the missing cremains as soon as possible.”
Ouellette added the USPS does its utmost to ensure packages that contain remains are handled properly and with respect.
“In the very rare instance a package of this sensitive nature is found to be missing, we do a thorough search throughout the facilities the package traveled through, and staff at every level is notified of the missing package,” he wrote. “If the package is found and there is no identification included, the cremated remains are kept indefinitely.”
In the meantime, Reeves says she is hopeful her aunt will be found soon.
“I'm praying every second,” she said. “Like God, where is she? I don't want to think the worst, but it just keeps coming to pass.”