JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An empty urn has left a grieving mother searching for answers.
In May 2018, she said she trusted a Jacksonville funeral home with her stillborn son’s body – only to find his ashes are missing.
Near the one-year anniversary of Bryan Alexander’s expected birth date, his mother said she and her older son wanted to memorialize him.
The urn was screwed tight, but never could she have imagined, she said, nothing was inside.
“Every time I look at it, I still kind of… how people can even think about not taking responsibility?" the mother explained. "It's more of taking responsibility for saying, 'hey, look, this is what happened. I'm sorry.'“
Almost two years later, her new attorney Ray Coleman III said she is still trying to get answers from the Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home off of St. Johns Bluff Road North.
According to the chain of custody documents signed by the funeral director, Bryan’s body went from the hospital to be cremated, and then was transferred into an urn before being released to the family.
“We have been contacted by counsel for Hardage-Giddens, who has stated that they were they're attempting to find the answers and would like to reconcile this," Coleman explained. "But to date, we have not heard anything as to the remains of Bryan.”
He said they plan to sue Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, but what the mother really wants is an apology – and to know what happened.
"The passing of a loved one is a tragedy that no one wants to endure. But to make this worse, that when the family goes to spread the ashes of their loved one and all they encounter is an empty box," Coleman said. "And then silence as to what happened to the remains. This makes this an outrage and a tragedy. I pray that no one else has to encounter this.“
Funeral directors are licensed through the state, they and homes are regulated by the Division of Funeral, Cemetery and Consumer Services.
A search of Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home records did not show any recent discipline or complaints.
“I just don't want this to happen to anybody else," the mother said. "They need to be more careful with people, and they just need to take responsibility for their actions.”
Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home responded to our questions with the following statement:
“As part of our commitment to client families, we guard their privacy and do not discuss specific client matters with the media.”