New York woman’s ashes ended up in Bradenton vacant lot. She will be buried next to her husband

Anna Bahr died in New York in 2008 at the age of 91. But earlier this month her cremated remains were found in a vacant field in the 1000 block of 50th Avenue Drive West in Bradenton.

Almost 12 years after she died, Bahr’s are now headed to Pennsylvania where she will be laid to rest next to her husband, a World War II veteran.

Bahr’s remains were discovered in the vacant field by a maintenance man who was mowing the grass on Dec. 6.

After the Bradenton Herald asked about a Dec. 11 incident report, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release later that day that investigators were looking for potential friends or family to determine how the ashes got there and if they could be reunited with loved ones.

Though the box of ashes contained a death certificate identifying Bahr, the associated contact information was no longer valid. Deputies were able to determine that a family friend had been in possession of the ashes, which were being stored in a shed on an adjacent property.

The sheriff’s office said the family friend was unsure how the ashes got from the shed to the vacant field, so much remains a mystery about how long the ashes were in the field and why. However, Bahr’s unusual journey is almost over.

There are no public records indicating Bahr was ever in the Bradenton area while alive. Virtually all of her official records have addresses in New York. Olthof Funeral Home, in Elmira N.Y., handled the services in 2008, noting she was born in Brooklyn and had few, if any, surviving relatives.

Her obituary noted, “Interment will take place at a later time,” indicating there were no immediate plans for a final resting place even in 2008.

In a press released issued Wednesday, the sheriff’s office praised Renne Kaczmarek, the sheriff’s office’s property and evidence processor, who worked to locate Bahr’s relatives.

Bahr’s husband, Lewis, is a World War II veteran interned in Pennsylvania. The Bradford County Veteran Services is stepping in to help get the ashes home to her husband.

The Good Earth Crematory is donating a new urn for the internment and The Northern Tier Veterans Group will cover the cost of the burial and a headstone.