Son’s ashes in the mail prompt a bio scare

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Tired of the red tape involved in proving her son dead, a Washington state woman sent a baggie containing some of his ashes to the company processing his student loans.

The letter, with the baggie inside, arrived at an office in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Oct. 12 as concern around the country grew about anthrax-tainted letters.

"We treated it as if it was an anthrax scare; it was a gray powdery substance," said Joseph Bailey, vice president of Sallie Mae Servicing.

The processing center, with 800 employees, handles more than 100,000 pieces of mail a day.

The woman’s son, a 25-year-old college student, had died of a drug overdose in Georgia, leaving behind about $35,000 in federal student loans, Bailey said. The loans are discharged if Sallie Mae, which processes them, or the lender receives an original or certified copy of the death certificate.

Bailey would not identify the woman or give her hometown. He said the woman first contacted Sallie Mae about the death May 17. Although she was informed of the requirements, she apparently became frustrated.

"It was a very well-written letter. She wasn’t mad, it was just a bizarre response — kind of matter-of-fact: ‘Attached is a bag containing his remains and the crematorium certificate,’ " Bailey said.

The response in the mail room was anything but matter-of-fact.

Given the anthrax scares, police and hazardous materials teams were called in and several workers went to their doctors for tests. A funeral director later confirmed that the bag, with about two teaspoons of white-and-gray flecked ashes, did contain human remains.

"I believe she just got frustrated — with all the personal grief involved with her son — that she had to go through the bureaucratic process of getting the loan discharged, so she sent us his remains," Bailey said.

The incident led the processing center to adopt new safety measures in the mail room, including the use of masks and rubber gloves by workers.

"In a sick sort of way, it was very beneficial to us," Bailey said.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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