Family Cremated, Held Funeral For Woman They Thought Was Loved One -- Then Learned She Was Still Alive!

News By TooFab Staff |
WROC

When police said their sister died of a drug overdose after going missing, her body was swiftly cremated and a funeral was held; then, a "random stranger" reached out on Facebook with a message that changed everything.

A New York family held a funeral for their sister, had her cremated, and even mixed her ashes with those of their mother for keepsake necklaces. Then, they learned those ashes actually belonged to a "stranger" ... and the woman they thought was dead, may actually still be alive.

That's the wild story being shared by Rochester resident Shanita Hopkins, who opened up to WROC about her family's situation, after learning her sister Shanice Crews was spotted in Detroit months after police said she died.

According to Hopkins, her family reported Crews missing in July 2021, after she stopped communicating with them and left behind her two children. Then, in April 2024, local police said she died in February that same year in an empty lot from a drug overdose, with an autopsy report finding high levels of cocaine in her body.

Hopkins took that as a shock and began wondering if her sister had been drugged, suggesting she didn't use cocaine. "Did somebody like lace her?" said Hopkins, speaking with WROC.

Hopkins said that because the body was so badly decomposed, it was cremated immediately, before a funeral and memorial service were held in May 2024.

Months later, everything changed for the family, however, when Hopkins received a random message from a stranger in Detroit.

"Ma'am, I'm concerned your sister is not dead," read the message, which came with a photo of a woman who Hopkins said is her sibling. "She just volunteered at my event today," the message added. Hopkins' immediate response to them was, "wtf."

"Just a random message," she told WROC, before she reached out to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office, showing them the photos and messages. She claimed they insisted the dental records were a match.

More DNA tests were done against other family members, with Hopkins saying they did not come back as a match -- meaning the remains weren't Shanice's. Hopkins said she now believes the medical examiner was "lying to my face" about the dental records -- telling the outlet, "they couldn't find out who this was and they wanted to close a missing person’s case. That's almost how I feel."

Making matters worse, Hopkins said the family made necklaces with some of the ashes from both the woman they thought was Shanice and their late mother -- saying, "we mixed my mom with this stranger." The additional ashes, she claimed, were returned to the medical examiner upon their request.

While it's been a challenging situation for the family -- and one that has left them reportedly weighing legal options for their "pain and suffering" -- there is a silver lining.

"She's just still a missing person to us, but she's alive and well," said Hopkins, who still hasn't heard from her sister directly.

When asked to comment on the incident, the Medical Examiner told the outlet they were "unable to comment on specific cases," while insisting they use "industry standard scientific methods to identify remains of deceased individuals in a timely manner and make appropriate notifications to families."