Police look for owner of box of human ashes

A box of human ashes washed up on suburban New Brighton beach last week. File photo / NZ Herald

Christchurch police are trying to find the owner of a box of human ashes that washed up on suburban New Brighton beach and was retrieved by a local resident.

The sealed wooden box bears a metal plaque with the name Ina Stevenson, the Stuff website reported.

Senior Sergeant Phil Barker said it was found last Wednesday morning near the main beach ramp, and checks of the births, deaths and marriages register and other inquiries had failed to identify the owner.

He said the box may have been dropped accidentally off the end of the pier before the owner had the chance to open it and scatter the ashes.

- NZPA