A heartbroken Georgia mother who says UPS lost a shipment containing her late 15-year-old son’s ashes will likely never have her beloved child’s remains returned to her after the mail courier company told her that they’ve ended their search for the package.
Tangenika Lee shared with Atlanta Black Star on Tuesday an audio recording of her call with a UPS representative, who is heard on the recording telling the emotional mother, “Unfortunately, we have searched and completed a thorough investigation, we are unable to locate your package.”
“Oh God, no,” Lee is heard saying on the recording.
“I’m sorry, but at this point, we will have to close this investigation,” the representative says as Lee breaks down sobbing.
UPS spokesperson Jim Mayer confirmed to Atlanta Black Star on Wednesday by phone that the company was “unable to find the package” and that the search for the package containing the ashes of Lee’s son, Deontray, has concluded.
“We’ve exhausted every opportunity to look for it,” Mayer said. “We weren’t able to find it. You can keep looking, but we were unable to find it, unfortunately.”
The grieving mother had hoped to memorialize the life of her son, who died in 2020 from a fentanyl cocktail-related overdose, with a personalized urn for his ashes. Following his untimely death, Deontray’s family placed his cremated remains in a box until they could have the custom urn created.
Four years after Deontray’s death, Lee, a resident of the Atlanta suburb of Hiram, had his ashes shipped via UPS to a relative in Connecticut last month who was creating the special final resting place for Deontray.
The package, which Atlanta Black Star confirmed was labeled on its contents form as “clothes,” was shipped at the start of last month with a promised delivery date of Jan. 10 that was never honored.
The mother told WSB-TV that her son’s ashes were last tracked to a Connecticut-based distribution center, and she intended to travel there to continue searching.
She says she was provided with a $135 check from UPS corporate as reimbursement for the lost package, which she said on her Facebook page that she does not intend to cash, Atlanta Black Star previously reported.
“I don’t want no $135 check. I want my son’s ashes back,” Lee wrote on Facebook.
Mayer shared a statement from UPS with Atlanta Black Star on Wednesday that read, “We continue to extend our sympathies to the family for their loss and are deeply sorry that after working diligently, we were unable to locate the package.
“We recognize that no amount of money would compensate for the loss of a loved one’s ashes, which is one of the most important reasons UPS declines to transport human remains. We have reimbursed the estimated value of the package’s contents, which was labeled as containing clothing,” the statement said.
