Alabama woman finds cremated remains, fetus inside auctioned storage unit
ROBERTSDALE, Ala. – WARNING: This story contains descriptions of human remains that some readers may find disturbing.
An Alabama woman got far more than she bargained for when she recently won the contents of a storage unit at auction for only $30.
Rebekah McManus’ found-treasure spelunking took a somber turn when she discovered cremated remains in the abandoned unit, especially considering that the storage space was once rented to a former funeral director, WKRG reported.
Nothing prepared McManus, however, for the next surprise.
“I found the fetus days later when I began unpacking the cremains to write down a list of their names,” McManus told AL.com, adding, “I thought it was a heart. In my head, I was thinking a heart like along the lines of what you see in science class. It was definitely not a heart and when I realized that, I freaked out a little.”
Prior to the fetus’ discovery, McManus found the cremated remains of 13 people who died between 1992 and 2019 inside a plastic tote, and she told the news outlet that her initial shock gave way to determination to locate the families of the departed.
“I would hope that if it were my ashes in something like that that whomever found them would do the same,” she told AL.com.
Most recently, she returned the remains of Jimmie Herrin, who died in 2019, to his grandson on Thursday, according to WKRG.
Herrin’s grandson, Bryce Herrin, told the TV station that the family tried several times to retrieve his grandfather’s ashes from the funeral home but were given “the runaround” each time.
The Alabama Board of Funeral Service, which licenses and regulates funeral businesses statewide, confirmed its awareness of the remains found by McManus to AL.com, noting it will investigate should any of the families of the people whose remains were found inside the storage unit file complaints.
Charles Perine, the board’s executive director, told the news outlet that none of the families involved have reached out to his office to file a complaint to date.
“That business is no longer in business, and the individual at this time is no longer licensed by the state, so we are waiting to hear from the families,” Perine told AL.com.
