Hopkins added that the family created necklaces using part of the ashes from their late mother and the woman they believed to be Shanice, stating that “we mixed my mom with this stranger.”
She said the extra ashes were given over to the medical examiner at their request.
The family has said that they are considering legal possibilities for their “pain and suffering” as a result of the difficult circumstances, but there is a bright side.
Hopkins stated, “She’s just still a missing person to us, but she’s alive and well,” as she has yet to get a direct message from her sister.
Responding to a request for comment on the incident, the Medical Examiner stated that they were “unable to comment on specific cases.”
But insisted that they employ “industry standard scientific methods to identify remains of deceased individuals in a timely manner and make appropriate notifications to families.”
