The ballad of Granpa G: Cremains wind up on Lowe’s shelf after refund desk snafu, Maine police say

BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor Police Department had no idea who Granpa G was, but when his ashes turned up inside a sealed light fixture box, their mystery man’s story took a strange turn, and they ran with it.

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In a nutshell, the box supposedly containing the newly purchased ceiling light actually held an unidentified family’s mementos, including photos and an envelope labeled as the cremated remains of “Granpa G.”

“Stranger things have happened, but this is a bit perplexing to a crew of more than adequately adept police officers,” the department wrote in a Dec. 12 Facebook post detailing the saga and requesting the public’s help locating the family belonging to the belongings.

“And here we all sit, scratching our heads and making up stories,” the post continued.

See the complete post below:

The next day, the department posted an update, noting that the cremains had been reunited with the family, who wished not to be identified publicly.

According to the Centre Daily Times, the follow-up post, which has since been deleted, offered the following explanation:

“In short ... a gentleman purchased a ceiling light at Lowe’s, but found that it just wasn’t the right one. He later purchased another ceiling light, but did not return the first one at that time. When he grabbed the box to return the first light, he did not know that his wife had already stored some photos, and Granpa G’s ashes inside the now taped up cardboard box. He took it back.”

According to the post, the “pleasant lady said that she will — from now on — label boxes more efficiently,” the newspaper reported.

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