The family of Kentucky man who died of the coronavirus while abroad is still trying to bring his remains back to the U.S. months after his death, USA Today reports.
On May 12, Charleen Shakman received a short, misspelled message informing her of the death of her father, Charles Pyles, 77, in the Philippines.
“Your dad is dead. To much sick,” the message read.
Embassy officials often help retrieve the remains of Americans who die overseas, while the State Department has helped thousands of American travelers return home during the coronavirus pandemic. But Shakman has spent thousands of dollars over the months trying to get the U.S. Embassy and members of Congress to help bring Pyles’ remains back to the U.S.
Her mother, Doris Pyles, said that she thought initially: "We'll send money and we'll talk to the embassy, and everything will be OK,” but “nothing was OK. Absolutely nothing."
A Philippine funeral home took $4,000 from Shakman and Pyles, part of that fee being for “Repatriation of Urn/Ashes to Kentucky USA,” according to a contract that was shared with USA Today, but the remains have yet to be returned.
“I am desperate and heartbroken,” Shakman told the newspaper.
Although the embassy referred her to the State Department, which has yet to assist in retrieving the remains, Shakman, a U.S. Army veteran, has not given up. On Wednesday, one of her father’s closest friends, who has spent months in the Philippines working to retrieve Pyles’ remains, sent Shakman a message saying he had an appointment with the embassy in Manila, where he could get a signoff on her father’s mortuary certificate and hopefully return home with the urn.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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