I don't say "I've seen it all" anymore. Stopped saying that years ago because when I do, something new comes up. Well, today was one of those days that something new came up.

Cleaning out a house that the tenant was evicted. Sad case. Military member that had an extremely hard time adjusting back to civilian life. While cleaning out the house, I found a baggie of ashes. I'm not positive, but yes, I believe they are those kind of ashes.

I talked to a really good friend that used to be a pastor and got his advice. I won't pass that along, but suffice to say I don't really care to do what he said. So now I'm asking you guys. What would you do? I'm sure everyone that chooses to respond will have a different opinion, but I don't want someone's final resting place on earth to be the county dump. I should also say contacting the ex tenant really isn't a possibility either. So now I'm trying to figure out a way to dispose of them respectfully. Thoughts?

Ken - I tend to agree. However, it's not the dead person's fault. I'm just at a loss here.

Sad situation. Several years ago a tenant moved with no notice and no forwarding address. One of the things he left behind was an American flag in a glass case. That usually means it was presented to the closest relative of a dead military person. I gave it to the guy cleaning out the place. Never saw that guy again either.

Two years later the former tenant asked if I still had it and could he please have it back.

Next time I'll keep it myself.

It is your job to safe guard anything that was left behind of value. Real there might not be any financial value to it, they could mean a great deal to someone. I would reach out and let them know that they have a reasonable amount of time to claim them - maybe a week or so to get in touch with you.

If they don't reach out, I would bury them in a respectful manner at a tree in the backyard.

If they were my PERSONAL ashes though- I serve on two sewer authorities. I am hoping for a non-traditional ceremony with a power flush.

gevans - I don't know that I will keep them. Creeps me out! Haha!

Ray - It is my job per KS law and I have done that. In 2 more days, I will have fulfilled my obligations of storing things for 30 days along with proper publication of disposal. I don't think another week will matter. I did get a chuckle out of your non-traditional ceremony though! LOL

plenty - I did think of this. I'm leaning towards this idea as well. I do have ex-tenant's contact info and would gladly leave it with them. Maybe he would answer if they call, but idk.

The other thing I thought of is I have a friend that is way more religious than me. This friend often takes trips to the Flint Hills for meditation and to get away. I thought about sending the ashes with them to scatter in the Flint Hills, along with a prayer or something. The pastor friend seemed to think this may be ok and quoted a bit of scripture to me in the ashes to ashes, dust to dust, etc. If a funeral home won't take them, this is the route I may end up going.

"I do have ex-tenants contact info and would gladly

leave it with them".

As an ex-sailor, Corpsman from 1978-1987, I would contact:

A local V.F.W. (Veterans of Foreign Wars.) chapter.

Your county's Veterans Affairs office. If one is not available I would contact your state's office.

Local recruiting branch.

What we did was get a potted plant and go to a local cemetery. Bring a garden trowel. Dig a hole put in ashes and put plant in

Say a prayer

Our county coroner's office would likely be able to identify as to whether they are human ashes. In our county, they are obliged to store them with any identifying info like next of kin, until claimed.

There is a large ongoing effort currently to find someone who will claim any remains - and many have been, a surprising number of which qualified for free VA burial. There was also a case of a former schoolmate who paid for a burial once the information was advertised online and in a local paper.

So, lots of advice on what to do if they really are ashes... But I can't help but wonder if they really are? What sort of "baggie" are we talking about here? It would be rare, I think, to keep real ashes in a "baggie." I mean, they generally won't give them to you that way from a crematorium. They'd be in something (which is why everyone else who mentions this above says that they were in a wooden box or something).

I guess it could be a situation where there were ashes divided up among several people or something and they just dumped them into a baggie maybe. So, it could happen, sure, but still seems pretty rare.

Long story short: I'm curious why you think they are human remains?

I like what Wilma said best. I think I'd contact the local coroner and go "So, this was left in our unit after an eviction. Can you tell me if they are human remains and, if so, what to do with them?" They might just take them from you and this will be done.

Go to the top of a high mountain/cliff or the bank of a peaceful river or lake and scatter the ashes to the wind. None of us are getting out of this alive, and as far as I'm concerned turning into worm food is no more or less "respectful" of what's left of me on this planet once my soul is home in glory than anything else, so....

As you may have guessed, I'm not a particularly sentimental person when it comes to disposing of leftover bits of humans. I don't go out of my way to respect or disrespect the remains themselves: they're just that...remains.

I save a show of respect for the living. Right now, "the living" left those ashes in a bag in your rental. If these are someone's remains, then the only person guilty of disrespect was your outgoing tenant who left them behind. I was in the Army for 23 years in the Band, and our primary job was ceremonies of different kinds. We got to play plenty of funerals. Everyone who has made it even a couple of years in knows how to treat these scenarios properly, and if this is the case, then this guy failed on multiple counts. No shame on you regardless of what you choose to do.

My FIL's ashes are in a common plastic bag in a crappy black plastic box. We donated his remains to science and the ashes were mailed back to us that way and we never did anything with them. He died in 2009! They sit in our living room behind the TV. We also have a dog and a cat in these amazing carved wooden boxes! $$$$$ But too small to house FIL.

FIL lost MIL's ashes during a move or something. Maybe he buried them on his own but he didn't tell us that.

Thank you all for the advice. The most recent question is why I think they are human ashes. They are in a zip lock sandwich baggie style. That baggie is also double bagged in another. The color of ashes, the amount of ashes, the fineness of them and the fact it is double bagged is what makes me think there is a possibility of human.

My first stop will probably be to a local funeral home to verify. If they are human, I will ask them if they can take and leave contact info for tenant. If they won't deal with it, then ask them where to take them.

Also agree with those like Sid that said he has failed. He failed miserably on multiple levels. Weed led to meth, led to inability to keep job, led to girlfriend leaving, led to more meth, led to...... You get the idea. (He was high as a kite when we showed up at 10am to do the lockout.) His neighbors tried to help him on several occasions. I talked to them directly. It's a sad story, but I helped as much as I could. Sadly, I don't think the eviction and loss of all personal items (including his dog) will be rock bottom yet. You have to be ready to accept help before it will do any good and just not sure he's there yet. I do hope he gets the help he needs.

They are ashes (maybe human remains, maybe not). They are not a human, and unfortunately, whoever they were entrusted to didn’t care enough to hold on to them. Dispose of them any way you wish.

Good news! I found out today they are not human remains. I happened to get ahold of the ex-girlfriend that moved out about 4 months ago. I was really hoping for this outcome.

Kinda like dealing with fake news.

But its nice to know WE couldn't help ya,

Laura: Just to note it, that answer ("I'd just do what was required by law") doesn't really cut it. The law says that you have to safekeep anything of "value" usually. Would you say that if it WAS human remains, that it would have "value"? A court might not agree with you if you say "no" and just throw it out.

So, it is not as simple as going "I'd just follow the law" here. The law might say that you have to safeguard it...

Ok, sounds like you got it all figured out. (Also sounds like you've never actually had to do an eviction with stuff of value left behind before, but whatever.)

I think the point is that it is not always exactly CLEAR about how to handle things like "possible human remains left in a baggie". You make it sound like you just look up the law and follow it. I maintain that there isn't a law written that exactly covers that situation.

Are baggies of dust considered "valuable"?

What if you can't confirm that they are actually human remains?

What if you really think they ARE human remains? Are you allowed to just throw human remains in the dumpster after the waiting period (again, assuming you think a judge will think human remains are "valuable" and need to be stored)?

You can't just go "I'd follow the law!" on that. That's the point of this thread -- the law is not clear on this because it has things that are SUBJECTIVE involved (i.e. what is "valuable" exactly) plus the additional question of if there is any obligation to dispose of it in a certain way.

The law is not clear on how to handle this. Hence someone ASKING us what we think should be done. If it was as simple as "I'd just follow the law", then the question wouldn't have had to be asked.

John, the law dictates what is be done with items left behind. If applicable it

may provide special guidance as to what to do with “valuable items”…such as retain for x period of time . The fact that they may/may not be cremated remains does not change the legal requirement. The fact is, there is no legal dilemma here . The dilemma is one the landlord had decided to have, because an “outside” i. e. legal dilemma does not exist.

John, yes if someone leaves behind a bag of cremated remains & and the landlord follows the law regarding items behind then yes he can just throw them away after x period. There is zero requirement that a landlord take special action with cremated items left behind or verify if left behind contents are cremated remains. This was a problem that did not need to exist.

I as a landlord have no intention of be more concerned about a tenant’s family remains than the tenant.

John, the law dictates what is be done with items left behind. If applicable it

may provide special guidance as to what to do with “valuable items”…such as retain for x period of time . The fact that they may/may not be cremated remains does not change the legal requirement. The fact is, there is no legal dilemma here . The dilemma is one the landlord had decided to have, because an “outside” i. e. legal dilemma does not exist.

John, yes if someone leaves behind a bag of cremated remains & and the landlord follows the law regarding items behind then yes he can just throw them away after x period. There is zero requirement that a landlord take special action with cremated items left behind or verify if left behind contents are cremated remains. This was a problem that did not need to exist.

I as a landlord have no intention of be more concerned about a tenant’s family remains than the tenant.

I’m not a sentimental person and I’m not even a nice person sometimes. But, you asked for advice. Ashes don’t take up much space. It won’t cost you anything to hold on to them for awhile. Your tenant may be in a bad way right now but May figure it out. I’ve gotten rid of many things of value that tenants left behind but I have photo albums of people I dont know in my basement because those of things that people can’t replace. They didn’t leave them behind on purpose.

RentsDue: To note it in case you didn't read all of the above, they weren't actually human remains. They were Kratom (a plant extract that people chew, drink, or smoke).

Everyone here was talking about how to handle human remains -- and then I asked why he thought it was human remains. Turns out it wasn't. :)

Funeral homes are businesses. Why in the world do you think one would want to get involved as a middleman between you and your wacky tenant.

Turn lemons into lemonade----its Winter and icy weather is coming. When the sidewalk ices up, scatter them on the ground to prevent slips and falls.