BRADENTON, Fla. — The mystery behind how the cremated remains of a 91-year-old woman from New York ended up seemingly discarded in a yard behind a Bradenton mobile home has seemingly been solved.
- Owner of remains of Anna Bahr said they were passed down from her mother
- Mother was a caretaker for Bahr
- More Manatee County stories
According to the sheriff's office, Mark Coleman, a caretaker for the listed grounds at 1012 50th Avenue Drive W., found a cardboard box containing ashes along the back fence of the property.
The weathered box was marked "Cremated Remains" and addressed to Anna M. Bahr in care of Olthof Funeral Home in Elmira, New York. Authorities said inside the box was certificate dated 2008 with the name: Anna Bahr and the cremated remains.
(Courtesy of Manatee County Sheriff's Office)
Deputies contacted the Olthof Funeral Home and learned that the remains had been given to a friend of the deceased in Elmira, New York, in 2008. They also learned that the friend died in 2016.
(Courtesy of Manatee County Sheriff's Office)
We tracked down the daughter of the last owner of the ashes. She told us her mother used to take care of Bahr, and she'd had Bahr's ashes for years until her passing, at which time the last owner inherited them.
At that point the cremated remains were placed in storage, but the last owner told us she believes that's where her children found the box, took and dropped it in the yard behind hers.