Dead clown's money to heirs vanishes

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TORONTO, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Four bank drafts worth $80,000 mailed to beneficiaries of a Canadian clown who died last year have disappeared in the postal system, the clown's executor said.

Lorrainne Pearce, 66, worked professionally as Buttercup the Clown until she died of cancer early last year. She bequeathed about $80,000 to four friends in the Toronto area, the Toronto Star reported Thursday.

Earlier this year, her executor, Mary Chmiel obtained bank drafts and then mailed them to the beneficiaries using Canada's Post's next-day, computer tracked service.

However, the drafts never arrived and Canada Post says there's no record of where they went.

Chmiel said the post office investigated for several days before calling to say the four envelopes were considered lost and the case was closed.

She contacted her member of Parliament and the post office reopened the investigation hours later, the Star said.

Meanwhile, the bank that issued the drafts said it can't re-issue the drafts until Canada Post officially declares the drafts lost.

The investigation into the clown's vanishing money was continuing, the report said.