A Massachusetts nonprofit that prides itself on cleaning up the Merrimack River recently discovered an usual item: a marble urn with ashes still inside.
Rocky Morrison of Clean River Project found the urn Friday while cleaning near the Lawrence boat ramp, according to The Eagle Tribune.
The urn, which had a man's image on it, read, "In Loving Memory, Truong Ngoc Nguyen, Jan. 1, 1928 - Oct. 26, 2016."
"This has to be the strangest thing I've ever pulled out of the Merrimack River. Somebody possibly threw grandpa's urn in the river. Or this might be a mystery story where it might've been stolen. Not sure but it’s a mystery," Morrison originally wrote on the Clean River Project's Facebook page.
After posting about the discovery on Facebook, a reader found Nguyen's obituary online and the Lawrence funeral home who handled his arrangements was contacted.
Morrison told the Eagle Tribune he still has the urn and has since heard from Nguyen's family.
"We have spoken to the family and they have explained to me that this was removed from their property at some point in time," Morrison wrote on Facebook. "This was never meant to be placed in the Merrimack River. We are hoping to return it to the family."
