COTTAGE GROVE, Wis., April 20 (UPI) -- Cremated remains that did not arrive in Hawaii on schedule by registered mail were not lost, just late, the U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday.
Officials said Ivory Ross of Cottage Grove, Wis., should receive the package with his mother's ashes by Thursday, WISC-TV reported.
Ross had planned to do what his mother wanted and scatter her ashes at sea off Hawaii. He and other family members traveled to Hawaii and chartered a boat for the scattering but the ashes never arrived.
The family did make the trip to sea and prayed for his mother.
"We apologize for disappointing Mr. Ross and his family. We understand this is an unfortunate situation for someone grieving the loss of a loved one," said Marge Oehlke, a Postal Service spokeswoman.
Ross said he mailed the ashes because he was discouraged from trying to carry them aboard a plane. They would have had to be specially packed to get through security.
