--- title: "FedEx Apologies for Losing Human Skeleton Shipped Via Its Service" description: "After somehow losing a human skeleton in transit, FedEx used perhaps the milquetoast possible way to apologize for the loss." date: "2022-07-15" modified: "2022-07-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai.md" url: "https://futurism.com/fedex-apology-remains" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" tags: - "fedex" - "human remains" - "human specimens" - "medical examiner" - "skeletons" --- # FedEx Apologies for Losing Human Skeleton Shipped Via Its Service ![After somehow losing a human skeleton in transit, FedEx used perhaps the milquetoast possible way to apologize for the loss.]() *\Image: Futurism\* After somehow losing a human skeleton in transit, FedEx used perhaps the milquetoast possible way to apologize for the loss — a generic Twitter reply. This bizarre story begins three year ago, when [per an *Atlanta Journal-Constitution* investigation]() a Georgia medical examiner attempted to send the remains of one Jeffrey Merriweather to a lab in St. Louis to try to determine how he went from full-bodied shooting victim to skeleton in the span of two weeks. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office attempted to send a box containing the 18.6-pound skeletal remains via FedEx, but it never arrived. According to Merriweather's mother, the debacle is "a nightmare you can’t wake up from." The *AJC* wasn't quite able to figure out what exactly happened to the 32-year-old shooting victim's remains, and the only thing they were able to determine concretely was that a receipt was made out in a Georgia FedEx for $32 to send the roughly 18-pound package to Missouri before it disappeared in transit. While FedEx did give a response to the Atlanta newspaper offering "thoughts and concerns" about the remains and a statement about why its service should not be used for human remains, it's unclear whether or not the company apologized directly to the Merriweather family — who, for their part, blame the medical examiner's office for the loss. When the *AJC* tweeted the story out this past week, however, a FedEx employee who clearly monitors the company's feeds for mentions of the issue gave a jarringly stilted response. "I am truly sorry you went through this experience," read [the tweet from @FedExHelp](). "Please send a direct message so I can continue assisting you." Lots and lots of questions remain about this bizarre tale — including, chief of which, why the ME decided to send the skeletal remains via FedEx in the first place, which is reportedly not customary for these sorts of specimen transfers. But for now, we at least know that whoever monitors FedEx's Twitter feed knows that the company lost a skeleton. And, heck, that's something. **READ MORE:** [Man’s body still missing 3 years after Georgia medical examiner shipped it via FedEx]() \[*Atlanta Journal-Constitution*\] **More medical mysteries:** *Lawyers and Doctors Struggle to Figure Out Who's Actually Dead* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Body Parts From Harvard Morgue]() - [Novo Nordisk Furious at $49 Knockoff Ozempic Pill]() - [RFK Jr. Sneezes Loudly While Trump Is Speaking]() - [Gene Therapy Lets Boy With Muscular Dystrophy Walk Again]() - [Scientists Inch Closer to Detecting Cancers With a Blood Test]() - [Black Holes May Devour Stars From the Inside, Like Cancer]() - [Scientists Created a Synthetic Molecule, and It Could End Antibiotic Resistance]() - [Pharmacists Warn That People With Eating Disorders Are Misusing Wegovy Prescriptions]()