Bag Containing Human Ashes Washes Up in Newport Beach

Bone fragments, teeth and ashes of a person who was cremated in Sacramento years ago washed ashore in a plastic bag Sunday, startling beach-goers who discovered it half-hidden in the sand at the water’s edge.

The bag, containing bone pieces up to six inches long and teeth with clearly visible fillings, was imprinted with a serial number and the name of a Sacramento cemetery, Police Lt. Jim Carson said.

Guided by the number, cemetery officials concluded that the remains could be 10 years old, but said they were not yet certain.

“It’s an interesting situation,” said Raphael Pazo, funeral director of Sacramento Memorial Lawn. “We haven’t figured out yet exactly what happened.”

Pazo speculated that family members who accepted the remains may have deposited them in the ocean locally. He said it was unlikely that the bag could have stayed afloat on waterways between Sacramento and Newport Beach.

Since 1985, it has been a misdemeanor to deposit human remains in the ocean less than three nautical miles offshore, Pazo said. Before 1985, state law allowed it, he said.

Sunday’s discovery, at 2 p.m. near 19th Street, was the second such discovery in a week in Newport Beach.

Last week, two wooden boxes of human ashes were discovered on a dock in the Fun Zone, Carson said. The boat that scatters ashes at sea had mistakenly left without them, he said.