PORT TOWNSEND, Wash. - It was just another stolen-car tow for Craig Lohner of Northwest Towing and Recovery, but this job would be part of a mystery that would span more than 5 years.
In February, Jefferson County sheriff's deputies asked Craig to tow a stolen 2003 Mazda Miata, parked outside Jerry Settlemire's house as a favor to a friend of a friend who never picked it back up.
"He needed a place to store it until he went to Phoenix, Arizona to bring his motor home back supposedly and it was here for over two and a half years," he said.
Jerry finally called the cops who told him the car was stolen. The police had Craig tow it away. He did a routine check to make sure nothing was inside. But when he opened the trunk, inside was a box.
Inside the box he found cremated human remains. The name on the box read Ethel Mary Hagen. She passed away on the last day of July 2003.
"There is a family somewhere was grieving for this. If they haven't already, somebody somewhere is looking for this, to have a proper funeral or a proper burial, whatever is their choice to do that, they'd want this back," he said.
Craig kept the box in his office and called the funeral home for months. They were no help, so Craig called me.
I found Ethel's name on the social security death index. I discovered she was from King County. After searching property records, I found she once owned a home in north Seattle. The records also showed she gave the home to a Dennis Clinton Nye, also of Seattle. I found Dennis, and he told me Ethel was his mother.
"I never thought I'd see my mother's remains again, and I left it at that," he said.
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