The remains of a man meant to be delivered by FedEx has reportedly been lost for the last three years after the body went missing in transition.
Jeffrey Merriweather, 32, was found partially decomposed behind a house in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019.
The man, who has three children, was last seen alive in June of that year driving an SUV when a shooting happened nearby.
After being reported missing by his family his body was then discovered weeks later underneath an inflatable mattress
Medical examiners wanted to send the remains for additional testing at a special trauma laboratory hundreds of miles away in St Louis to find out why they had turned into a near-skeletal state so quickly.
An arrangement was made with FedEx to move his body from St Austell for a reported $32.61, which was supposed to take two days.
However, Merriweather's remains were lost and no trace of them have been since - three years on.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an article about the case earlier this month and tweeted a link to it, tagging FedEx in the process.
A seemingly automated reply from the global courier service's account then appeared.
It read: "Hello there. My name is Gaby.
"This is not the experience we want to provide. I am very sorry for the pending delivery.
"Please send a direct message, I would be happy to assist."
The tweet was soon deleted but not before social media users branded the response as insensitive.
A spokesperson said: "Shipments of this nature are prohibited within the FedEx network.
"Our thoughts and concerns remain with the family of Mr. Merriweather, however, we request that further questions be directed to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office."
US law states that the sending of human body parts is only allowed through the US Postal Service under strict guidelines.
Body parts are normally moved between states using via flight - although it is unclear what method of transport was used for Merriweather.
Kathleen Merriweather told the Journal-Constitution that the disappearance of her son's remains "nightmare" she could not wake up from.
