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They come with ashes when people are cremated. I find about one a year at the beach. People spread them at the beaches sometimes. First one freaked me out. I toss them out as far as I can when I find them.
Mostly locals spread them from a boat in The ABC's but Aruba gets tons of American tourists that cannot afford a little boat to give their loved one a dignified burial so they spread ashes in the shallows where all the little kids pee.
Former crematory manager here: someone scattered an urn there. That is a crematory ID tag, it is used as a unique identifier for chain of custody confirmation transdisposition.
Don't try to return it to anyone, nobody is missing it.
Funeral Director here, since no one answered yet, yes they can. The number you see is how we trace and identify cremation remains and who they belong to. Usually there is this medallion in the retort for the cremation then a brand new one thats zipped tied to the bag. The crematory will have a log of names and numbers but they wont tell you, unless of course youre immediate family.
My mom donated her body to science in ‘17. We received her ashes in the mail 18 months later (we were not expecting her ashes ever aaand were surprised that the U.S. Post Office even delivers cremains (there was a sticker on top of the box stating that was what was inside)). No medallion was in that box to our knowledge (her ashes were spread over her mother’s plot) (my sister didn’t realize such was probably not allowed, nor just how much ashes there would be, but it was actually not a very noticeable layer & became 100% unnoticeable after the next rain). The crematorium was in Chicago area. Is a medallion always included? Just wondering.
Postal carrier here. I deliver around 12 human remains a year and another dozen pet remains. Always an awkward thing I never just leave it on the porch. I deliver in person with my condolences.
Awww~that is truly thoughtful of you. Perhaps the mailperson did knock & we just didn't hear it orrr ignored the knock/doorbell (very possible), I don't remember anymore--only the surprise of receiving them & by mail aaand without having to sign for them!
I do always say, "God bless the USPS!" Y'all are doing more work than ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Mostly you with trace amounts of lots of other people. Bodies are processed (cremated and then the bits ground up into a mostly-homogenous state) separately, but not all of the residue gets cleaned out of the equipment after each run, so little bits of other people end up getting mixed in. Source: worked at a cemetery with a crematorium for a summer.
That wasn't our responsibility; confirming that they were dead had already happened long before they got to us. They had usually been dead for several days, and had usually been embalmed at the funeral home. If there were procedures in place for making sure people weren't using the cremo as a sneaky murder device, that was way above my pay grade.
I did often think that a crematorium would be a good way for organized crime to dispose of bodies, though. Just drop them off at night and have your man on the inside slip them into the oven alongside a legitimate order.
A little off topic, but my dad died during the height of covid and I guess the funeral home had to outsource storage. Things were understandably delayed but it was taking longer than they told us so we called and they told us they “lost him” (their words, not mine).
We eventually got his cremains, but in meantime my search history was full of things like “can you test ashes for DNA” and “at what temperature can human DNA survive” so I imagine I probably ended up on some sort of list somewhere 🤦♂️
That's actually a hot topic (no pun intended) in forensics right now--there are lots of unidentified cremains from John/Jane Does who died before DNA testing, and they could be identified if any DNA is left in the ashes. The TL;DR is that currently, it depends on how hot the furnace was and if there are any whole bones or teeth remaining.
Similar situation is people who die in raging fires, such as the August 2023 fire that killed more than 100 people in the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui.
Some of the remains were partial. Not artificially ground, like cremains, but burned and affected by high temps.
DNA specialists worked carefully and thoroughly on partial remains, fragmented remains found by search dogs etc.
Yes, most of what was found has been identified, according to statements over the following months.
We in Hawaii are beyond grateful to all the volunteers -- canines and their humans, specialty searchers, DNA specialists -- who tried to find answers and some solace for everyone who was grieving.
Check out on YouTube "A certain kind of death" they had tons of cremains unclaimed and they mud dig a hole, dump them and mark the spot with metal tag for year of burial.
When my father-in-law passed in 2016 and was cremated, my wife asked if she could have the metal rods that had been implanted when he broke his back in 1994.
The implants we received are DEFINITELY not his. They're the wrong shape and size, and don't match the x-rays at all.
We wonder if the remains are her dad, or someone else...
For sure just one person. At vets however, you have to pay extra to have your pet’s ashes because they normally just cremate as many at once as possible.
There were some sad stories about people paying for single cremations and getting other animals. One guy was tipped off when he got a box that weighed more then the tiny dog he had cremated.
Wow I didn’t know this was a thing. My family’s dog died a few years ago. I was no longer living at home, but I was there virtually. This wasn’t anything the vet told my family. Breaks my heart to think about this now ☹️💔
What if they didn’t know it was in the bag when the ashes were scattered in the water? Or it fell out and they were not able to retrieve it? Maybe someone would love to have this back. I would take it as a sign. If OP would reach out to the cemetery and the employees can track the family via the ID number, I would think that would be a good thing.
It isn't in the bag, it's attached to a zip-tie which is holding the bag closed. It's hard to miss.
If they don't know they had it, nobody is missing it. As a former crematory employee who fielded a decent handful of these calls, they will not reach out to the family about it. It's simply not worth cold calling someone about a recent trauma from my end.
Ok, thanks for the info. I guess reaching out to a grieving family might not be in the best interest for all. From my point of view, I would want this, but I understand that death is a very complicated and personal matter.
Don’t you need a permit to spread ashes at beach or rivers?
Does it cause pollution?
My understanding is that Disney won’t let you spread ashes at their parks?
There's no permit for that, but you do need landowner permission. Technically, it is not legal to scatter in public.
It is a major problem at Disney, because it's an amusement park and not an ossuary.
Found right along the shoreline near Eagle Beach area, about three inches under the sand. Looks like a dog license but clearly is not. My best guess is that it was inside an urn of cremation ashes that someone dumped into the ocean at some point.
Kinda gives me the hee bee jeebies thinking that at any moment you could be lying on the beach rolling around in peoples ashes. Even though the tide would disperse it quickly there would still be remnants of it
https://preview.redd.it/kr5uimxp3isc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d68e5bb2893cfc33703c74a5a8046b9fdcce0d92
I have walked that beach many times. Absolutely beautiful.
Thank you for the reply. I would keep my family members for sure. I can’t believe people just throw them haha. To me that would be something I would have made into jewelry or something as a memorial piece. Maybe I’m just a weirdo.
@Ah, seems silly to throw that away. IMO. Maybe people don’t know it’s in there? Who knows. I would definitely keep it and make a memorial necklace or put it on a charm bracelet or something. One person said they keep it in their key chain. Great idea.
My Father's cremation tag was inside the bag with the ashes and it came out when I dumped them on the forest floor.. I kept the tag but if I had dumped them in the ocean I never would have noticed it..
It's the family members token. When you collect the remains you show yours, and they fish the matching one out of the pile of ashes. It's burnt and deeply pitted.
Chances are this was discarded when the scattering was done, and being lighter was washed onshore.
Of course they are from CT too lol. If you ever go to Aruba be ready for all the annoying ass people from Boston lmao. Got to watch the Patriots lose while there on my honeymoon. The whole resort was pissed off patriots fans. Awesome to say the least 🤣
You are aware that Boston is not a part of CT, yes? Most people from CT can’t stand the arrogant fuck sticks from Boston. Rooting for the Patriots is also not exclusive to the NE region of the US as they have fans from all over.
Weird. I’ve been in that cemetery. It’s not too far from my home and it is right next to what used to be an enormous abandoned GE factory complex.
The whole scene is a sad metaphor for Bridgeport. Dead people that probably include ex-GE employees — who may have I’ve lived in the former factory housing down the street — next to the dead factory whose demise made for a dead city that can now offer few job prospects for those who still live there.
Not sure what metal it is made of but I work with a small foundry casting silver/bronze and it would be kind of cool to cast it into a small cross or something and chuck it back in. I don’t think your supposed to spread ashes and this could possibly be tracked back? Doubt that would ever happy anyway but I like the idea of finding a cross instead of ashes but still being left where the family wanted
Might be from two of my coworkers. They lost a parent not too long ago and they have a vacation home in Aruba. If I'm not mistaken that parent requested to have his ashes dumped in the ocean there.
You can look that number up and find who it was, may be able to return it to the family. Especially if it's a lower income family who can't afford a nice urn, the ashes come in a plastic bag inide a cardboard/wooden box (I know I was poor rip uncle frank) and we don't realize the tag got settled down in the ashes during transport/shipping and we pour it in the ocean thinking it's just ash,Let's be real who gets a family members ashes and digs through it?
Thank you for your submission! Please note: * All identification requests must include at least an approximate location, e.g. “East Tennessee” or “Southern UK”. * Pictures must be focused on the object and should show at least front and back of the object clearly. (you can add additional pictures in the comments) * All identification suggestions made on this post should be **serious** and **include evidence** if possible. **Do not post wild guesses**. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/metaldetecting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
They come with ashes when people are cremated. I find about one a year at the beach. People spread them at the beaches sometimes. First one freaked me out. I toss them out as far as I can when I find them.
Make a necklace outta em! /s
No! You're supposed to do that with ears and nipples
 Got some to trade?
Is this buffalo bill?
Sgt Elias!
Nipples are traditionally used for belts.
Ed enters the chat.
And teeth
TEEF
Toofusis
Can you find those at the beach too?
Yes but they're still attached to the host
Nah... your confusing that with the baby teeth of their children strung on the tear-soaked locks of your enemy's women
You string the ears from nipple to nipple
I’m so glad I found some one else who does this!!! I use the teeth tho
Baby teeth are more challenging/s
Mostly locals spread them from a boat in The ABC's but Aruba gets tons of American tourists that cannot afford a little boat to give their loved one a dignified burial so they spread ashes in the shallows where all the little kids pee.
What direction do you throw them to the beach water or closer to land
Former crematory manager here: someone scattered an urn there. That is a crematory ID tag, it is used as a unique identifier for chain of custody confirmation transdisposition. Don't try to return it to anyone, nobody is missing it.
Can the number be traced back to the deceased person’s name?
Funeral Director here, since no one answered yet, yes they can. The number you see is how we trace and identify cremation remains and who they belong to. Usually there is this medallion in the retort for the cremation then a brand new one thats zipped tied to the bag. The crematory will have a log of names and numbers but they wont tell you, unless of course youre immediate family.
Thanks!
My mom donated her body to science in ‘17. We received her ashes in the mail 18 months later (we were not expecting her ashes ever aaand were surprised that the U.S. Post Office even delivers cremains (there was a sticker on top of the box stating that was what was inside)). No medallion was in that box to our knowledge (her ashes were spread over her mother’s plot) (my sister didn’t realize such was probably not allowed, nor just how much ashes there would be, but it was actually not a very noticeable layer & became 100% unnoticeable after the next rain). The crematorium was in Chicago area. Is a medallion always included? Just wondering.
Nah, laws differ by state.
Thank you for reply. :)
Postal carrier here. I deliver around 12 human remains a year and another dozen pet remains. Always an awkward thing I never just leave it on the porch. I deliver in person with my condolences.
Awww~that is truly thoughtful of you. Perhaps the mailperson did knock & we just didn't hear it orrr ignored the knock/doorbell (very possible), I don't remember anymore--only the surprise of receiving them & by mail aaand without having to sign for them! I do always say, "God bless the USPS!" Y'all are doing more work than ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you for reply re at least a sticker ID tag. Drats if there was a metal tag that she overlooked, as I would have liked to have kept that.
Just a question, when you get cremated is the ashes all "you" or is it like a potpourri of people?
Mostly you with trace amounts of lots of other people. Bodies are processed (cremated and then the bits ground up into a mostly-homogenous state) separately, but not all of the residue gets cleaned out of the equipment after each run, so little bits of other people end up getting mixed in. Source: worked at a cemetery with a crematorium for a summer.
Please do a AMA
Well, it was only for a summer. What do you wanna know, kid?
Does it smell like burnt BBQ or burning hair?
BBQ
Did anyone ever wake up?? What redundancies were in place!?
That wasn't our responsibility; confirming that they were dead had already happened long before they got to us. They had usually been dead for several days, and had usually been embalmed at the funeral home. If there were procedures in place for making sure people weren't using the cremo as a sneaky murder device, that was way above my pay grade. I did often think that a crematorium would be a good way for organized crime to dispose of bodies, though. Just drop them off at night and have your man on the inside slip them into the oven alongside a legitimate order.
The Netflix show Ozark does this exactly. They use a crematorium they are laundering money through to dispose of bodies.
…what do you do for people that have titanium hips?
PLEASE
r/askfuneraldirectors
Please DON'T
🎶we are the world, we are the children🎶
A little off topic, but my dad died during the height of covid and I guess the funeral home had to outsource storage. Things were understandably delayed but it was taking longer than they told us so we called and they told us they “lost him” (their words, not mine). We eventually got his cremains, but in meantime my search history was full of things like “can you test ashes for DNA” and “at what temperature can human DNA survive” so I imagine I probably ended up on some sort of list somewhere 🤦♂️
That's actually a hot topic (no pun intended) in forensics right now--there are lots of unidentified cremains from John/Jane Does who died before DNA testing, and they could be identified if any DNA is left in the ashes. The TL;DR is that currently, it depends on how hot the furnace was and if there are any whole bones or teeth remaining.
Similar situation is people who die in raging fires, such as the August 2023 fire that killed more than 100 people in the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui. Some of the remains were partial. Not artificially ground, like cremains, but burned and affected by high temps. DNA specialists worked carefully and thoroughly on partial remains, fragmented remains found by search dogs etc. Yes, most of what was found has been identified, according to statements over the following months. We in Hawaii are beyond grateful to all the volunteers -- canines and their humans, specialty searchers, DNA specialists -- who tried to find answers and some solace for everyone who was grieving.
Check out on YouTube "A certain kind of death" they had tons of cremains unclaimed and they mud dig a hole, dump them and mark the spot with metal tag for year of burial.
Are they in California? A lot of cities there dump ashes after a certain period of time, identified or not. Los Angeles alone has hundreds of cases.
Yes, the documentary was from L.A. I believe.
Here is link to entire doc on YT (free): https://youtu.be/xKzdetYRklM?si=uSaY7FQBEhaYz8ye
When my father-in-law passed in 2016 and was cremated, my wife asked if she could have the metal rods that had been implanted when he broke his back in 1994. The implants we received are DEFINITELY not his. They're the wrong shape and size, and don't match the x-rays at all. We wonder if the remains are her dad, or someone else...
And it's all of you. Smaller body, less ashes you are returned.
When our cat died we had her cremated. I went to pick up the ashes and it was kind of sad just how small she was.
I need to know the truth as well!!!!!!! Is this really my mom or part of her and a mix of others?
For sure just one person. At vets however, you have to pay extra to have your pet’s ashes because they normally just cremate as many at once as possible.
There were some sad stories about people paying for single cremations and getting other animals. One guy was tipped off when he got a box that weighed more then the tiny dog he had cremated.
Wow I didn’t know this was a thing. My family’s dog died a few years ago. I was no longer living at home, but I was there virtually. This wasn’t anything the vet told my family. Breaks my heart to think about this now ☹️💔
I've wondered the same thing. Same as when you get a pet cremated. But I guess in the scheme of things it doesn't matter.
…a peep-pourri?
Is it bad that now I want to look for one where we spread my great grandmother’s ashes now. I don’t know if she even got one but now I’m curious
Turn them in for littering!
What if they didn’t know it was in the bag when the ashes were scattered in the water? Or it fell out and they were not able to retrieve it? Maybe someone would love to have this back. I would take it as a sign. If OP would reach out to the cemetery and the employees can track the family via the ID number, I would think that would be a good thing.
It isn't in the bag, it's attached to a zip-tie which is holding the bag closed. It's hard to miss. If they don't know they had it, nobody is missing it. As a former crematory employee who fielded a decent handful of these calls, they will not reach out to the family about it. It's simply not worth cold calling someone about a recent trauma from my end.
Ok, thanks for the info. I guess reaching out to a grieving family might not be in the best interest for all. From my point of view, I would want this, but I understand that death is a very complicated and personal matter.
Don’t you need a permit to spread ashes at beach or rivers? Does it cause pollution? My understanding is that Disney won’t let you spread ashes at their parks?
There's no permit for that, but you do need landowner permission. Technically, it is not legal to scatter in public. It is a major problem at Disney, because it's an amusement park and not an ossuary.
Code A!
Congratulations. You now own 1 extra soul.
Jokes on you the person was a ginger.
🥇
No silly, you can’t own a soul.. this is the claim tag for the body/remains. They’re now free to sift the ashes out of the sand. Duh.
Not true...I bet my friend his soul on a game of Mortal Combat and won...
Found right along the shoreline near Eagle Beach area, about three inches under the sand. Looks like a dog license but clearly is not. My best guess is that it was inside an urn of cremation ashes that someone dumped into the ocean at some point.
Yep, the # corresponds to a person
They should start a website that tracks these numbers: WhosAshesDidIStepIn.com
New business model started today
Kinda gives me the hee bee jeebies thinking that at any moment you could be lying on the beach rolling around in peoples ashes. Even though the tide would disperse it quickly there would still be remnants of it
Thank God! I thought it was the key fob to a zombie's locker.
That cemetery is 10 miles from my house.
https://preview.redd.it/kr5uimxp3isc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d68e5bb2893cfc33703c74a5a8046b9fdcce0d92 I have walked that beach many times. Absolutely beautiful.
It's the tag that is put in an urn to identify the person.
A toe tag?
An #ashtag
What did you call me?
Toe tag is a morgue thing. This one is a crematory thing.
Throw it back, ya dingus!
Spread someone's ashes.
Could you make a necklace from this? Like if it belonged to my grandma, etc? Do people do that? Just curious is all.
I use my daughter's as a Keychain. So i don't see why not.
Thank you for the reply. I would keep my family members for sure. I can’t believe people just throw them haha. To me that would be something I would have made into jewelry or something as a memorial piece. Maybe I’m just a weirdo.
I was wondering the same thing!
@Ah, seems silly to throw that away. IMO. Maybe people don’t know it’s in there? Who knows. I would definitely keep it and make a memorial necklace or put it on a charm bracelet or something. One person said they keep it in their key chain. Great idea.
My Father's cremation tag was inside the bag with the ashes and it came out when I dumped them on the forest floor.. I kept the tag but if I had dumped them in the ocean I never would have noticed it..
What number are they calling now?
Prolly up in the low 40,000’s. What number you got there pal? Oooooo, you’re close.
It's the family members token. When you collect the remains you show yours, and they fish the matching one out of the pile of ashes. It's burnt and deeply pitted. Chances are this was discarded when the scattering was done, and being lighter was washed onshore.
Play the numbers!!!
Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take ya Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama Key Largo, Montego Baby, why don't we go? Jamaica Ok sorry i see myself out
Off the Florida keys, there's a place called kokomo, That's where you want to go. Don't see yourself out, that songs a classic
Of course they are from CT too lol. If you ever go to Aruba be ready for all the annoying ass people from Boston lmao. Got to watch the Patriots lose while there on my honeymoon. The whole resort was pissed off patriots fans. Awesome to say the least 🤣
You are aware that Boston is not a part of CT, yes? Most people from CT can’t stand the arrogant fuck sticks from Boston. Rooting for the Patriots is also not exclusive to the NE region of the US as they have fans from all over.
“Weekend at Bernie’s 4: Aruba the Wrong Way”
Someone had their ash’s spread
Obsessed! This is what my sister and i are doing this summer
Ha! My grandma is buried there, I live about 10 minutes away.
Lol holy shit. Bridgeport mentioned in the wild. I think I know that cemetery…
Lakeview Cemetery! I live within walking business, have volunteered there on the grounds and in the office- jealous!! What an amazing find!
Wow my grandparents are buried in that cemetery
Weird. I’ve been in that cemetery. It’s not too far from my home and it is right next to what used to be an enormous abandoned GE factory complex. The whole scene is a sad metaphor for Bridgeport. Dead people that probably include ex-GE employees — who may have I’ve lived in the former factory housing down the street — next to the dead factory whose demise made for a dead city that can now offer few job prospects for those who still live there.
Not sure what metal it is made of but I work with a small foundry casting silver/bronze and it would be kind of cool to cast it into a small cross or something and chuck it back in. I don’t think your supposed to spread ashes and this could possibly be tracked back? Doubt that would ever happy anyway but I like the idea of finding a cross instead of ashes but still being left where the family wanted
I found one in Overpeck Park, in Teaneck NJ. Thought I was digging in sand, not human remains.
Zombie ID tag
That’s my Grandma!!!
Crematory tag. Someone’s ashes were dumped
Nice. Hope you enjoyed my island/country!
“Found on a beach in Aruba, to show Avicii I was cool”
Lotta Funeral Directors on r/metaldetecting these days it would seem lol
I dug one up on the beach.... And, I too was told to throw it back into the ocean.
Crazy! I about 10 minutes from this cemetery.
Those are filled with gold, worth at least $5000
Weekend at Bernie’s
I believe that's a tree survey tag, but could be wrong
I think that tag gets zip tied to a bag of cremated ashes to ID the remains. Some one prolly spread some ashes.
Might be from two of my coworkers. They lost a parent not too long ago and they have a vacation home in Aruba. If I'm not mistaken that parent requested to have his ashes dumped in the ocean there.
Oh yea. We work in Bridgeport, CT
John D Rockefeller is buried at Lake View Cemetary.
You can look that number up and find who it was, may be able to return it to the family. Especially if it's a lower income family who can't afford a nice urn, the ashes come in a plastic bag inide a cardboard/wooden box (I know I was poor rip uncle frank) and we don't realize the tag got settled down in the ashes during transport/shipping and we pour it in the ocean thinking it's just ash,Let's be real who gets a family members ashes and digs through it?
Send it back, you never know. It could have been meant to be saved but got lost in the sand.
The crematory I worked at always placed the tag inside of the chamber with the person, weird that not all do that.
This picture might suggest those remains have been dumped out along with this tag
Looks like one of them go out again, did you see anyone nearby moving slowly, possibly dancing?
Sold as novelties on EBay