U.S. Army vet searches for owner of urn containing ashes left at metro Atlanta Goodwill

A former Goodwill employee is trying to track down the owner of an urn containing cremated remains he said was found at a store located in Peachtree Corners.

The backstory:

Before Andre Bess started working part-time at Goodwill, he spent 21 years serving in the United States Army.

"Our motto in the military has always been this: ‘No soldier left behind,’" he told FOX 5.

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With that motto in mind, Bess said his mission since December 2023 has been finding loved ones who may have unintentionally donated an urn with ashes still inside.

Bess said there were several urns donated around the same time that December.

What we know:

On Sunday, a Goodwill spokesperson said the company had no record of guest inquiries about cremated remains being found.

But, Bess told FOX 5 that a shopper first brought it to his attention.

"One of the customers came to me and asked me were the urns supposed to have something inside of them, and I’m like, ‘No they’re not,’" Bess recalled.

From there, he said he notified his superiors and other employees who were shocked to hear what he’d found.

"So, I talked to the managers and everybody else. They didn’t know what to do with it, and some of the other workers … they were ready to throw it away," he said.

Bess said that wasn’t an option. Army life left him with heightened regard for those who have passed on, so he was committed to getting that urn back to its home.

"I told them I can’t do that because I have to find out who this belonged to," he said. "I have a lot of soldiers that I worked with that died. Regardless of the flesh not being there, it’s still a human being, or it could be a pet."

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Dig deeper:

A spokesperson for Goodwill said they do on rare occasions receive donations that include human remains.

FOX 5 Atlanta was told they do not track specific donations to donors, but the store policy is to separate the items and work with crematoriums to dispose of them.

What you can do:

Bess said his goal is to find the loved ones of the deceased. He’s hoping that someone will recognize the urn and reach out to him via email at ssgbess@hotmail.com.

The Source: This article is based on original reporting by fOX 5 Atlanta's Joi Dukes.

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