US woman finds stranger in mother’s casket; believes body is that of Canadian

ABOVE: (Jan. 12, 2014) Last month, their mother died while vacationing in the Caribbean. Now there are fears the wrong person may have been cremated. All this comes after a woman in the U.S. discovered someone else in “her” mother’s casket. Mike Le Couteur reports.

WARWICK, R.I. – Officials on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten are seeking answers after an American woman found someone else’s body in a casket that was supposed to contain her mother.

Lisa Kondvar of Rhode Island says she suspects a hospital or funeral home confused Margaret Porkka’s body with that of a Canadian woman who died on the island around the same time.

They also believe Porkka’s body was cremated in Ottawa.

She says the family wants to know for sure and will take possession of the ashes if they are determined to be those of Porkka.

The family has hired a detective and is looking for an international attorney.

St. Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams says US officials have asked for an investigation.

She says the two women were in their 80s and died in November from natural causes.

Their bodies were flown to the US on the same airline.