HOUSTON – A Houston family grieving the loss of a loved one hoped to turn a piece of her into something they could carry with them forever.
Instead, they say that irreplaceable piece of their loved one is now missing in the mail.
Jonathan Henley lost his sister, Juliet Scioneaux, to cancer on July 25. After her death, Henley said he, Juliet’s daughter and her granddaughter planned to get matching memorial tattoos using special ink made with some of her cremated remains.
“The plan was to get a memorial tattoo,” Henley said.
The design would feature Juliet’s thumbprint with a cancer ribbon incorporated into it.
Family sent cremated remains to Nevada company
Henley said finding a company that could create the special ink took extensive research.
“A lot of research, a lot of time, a lot of resources put into it,” he said.
Eventually, Henley found a company in Nevada that specializes in incorporating cremated remains into tattoo ink. He said he researched the business, spoke with representatives over the phone and exchanged several emails before sending Juliet’s remains. The company has remained communicative with him and has also filed its own missing-mail report, according to Henley.
The company successfully made the ink and shipped it back to Houston through U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail.
But the package never arrived.
“I have not been able to locate this item. It’s been missing,” Henley said.
Henley said USPS tracking shows only one update indicating the package was at a Sacramento distribution center on Sept. 10.
“When I type in the tracking number in USPS, there’s only one notification and that notification says that this package is still located in Sacramento,” he said.
Nearly three weeks later, Henley said there has been no additional tracking update.
Henley says he has received conflicting information
Henley said he filed a missing-mail request online and visited his local post office multiple times looking for answers.
He said one postal employee told him the package was in Atlanta. When he returned to the post office later looking for another update, Henley said he was told employees could no longer locate it.
For most missing packages, a replacement may be an option. For Henley and his family, it is far more complicated.
Henley said family members still have some of Juliette’s cremated remains, but the process of preparing the ashes to be sent away was painful the first time.
“We had to dig inside the bag, measure it out, put it in a mailing package,” Henley said. “We did that as a family and it was very difficult for us to do so.”
Henley said he does not want to put Juliet’s daughter and granddaughter through that process again.
“I’d rather it be found or just say that it’s not, we will not be able to find it and just let it go,” he said.
USPS apologizes, says search is continuing
KPRC 2 reached out to the U.S. Postal Service about the missing package.
USPS acknowledged the sensitive nature of the situation and said postal officials are working to determine the package’s last documented location and what may have caused the interruption in service.
USPS provided KPRC 2 with the following full statement:
“The U.S. Postal Service always strives to provide the highest quality service possible and takes mail service concerns very seriously. In this instance, we are keenly aware of the sensitivity of this matter and are focused on ensuring the package is located as quickly as possible. We offer a sincere apology for the unintended delay in delivering this important package. Postal officials are working to determine the item’s last documented location and possible reasons for the service interruption. We regret that the package has not yet been located, but we will continue our vigilance to search for and ultimately deliver it to our customer as soon as we can.”
‘This is something that can’t be replaced’
Henley said the uncertainty surrounding the package has added another layer to a grieving process his family is still navigating.
“It feels like they don’t care,” Henley said. “I know mail gets lost, I understand that, but this is something that can’t be replaced.”
For now, the family’s matching tattoos are on hold.
Henley said finding the package would allow him, his niece and his sister’s granddaughter to finally follow through with the memorial they had planned.
“It’ll mean that I can honor her wishes,” Henley said. “It’s part of the grieving process. It’s part of our grieving process, and we would like to move on with our grief.”
Henley said he is holding onto hope that somewhere along the way, the package will be found. and a piece of his sister will finally make its way home.
“This is gonna fade one day. I might lose this one day,” Henley said while holding a memorial card for his sister. “I’m never going to lose this tattoo.”
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