ROLLING MEADOWS (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It turns out it's never too late for a Mother's Day reunion for one suburban family.
"For five years she's been missing and now she's back," said Tina Moe of Rolling Meadows, who became emotional as she spoke to WBBM over the phone about the cremains of her mother, Ursula Staack, who died ten years ago.
"It's crazy," the 70-year-old Moe said, but in a good way.
What's "crazy" is that Moe had the ashes of her mother for several years but then had to go into rehab following hip replacement. The owner of her apartment building had not paid taxes so everyone had to move out.
The ashes ended up in storage, then disappeared. But then two weeks ago she got a call from Kane County Coroner Rob Russell.
"He said, 'Well, guess what? Somebody dropped off your mother's remains and they're here.'"
He delivered the ashes to her on Friday. Russell said he was happy to be able to "reunite" Moe with her mother.
"A lot of people think the coroner's office just deals with dead people," Russell said. "But it's also about serving the living."
Moe, who also has children, said it's a great Mother's Day gift to be close to her mother again.
"I'm just so happy she's back," she said.