Man says airline lost wife’s body

NEW YORK – A man who tried to send his late wife’s body to their native Ecuador for burial is suing American Airlines and a funeral home, claiming her remains were sent to the wrong country.

Miguel Olaya, 60, says he hired the DeRiso Funeral Home in New York City to ship his wife’s body to Guayaquil, Ecuador, on April 1, but the coffin wasn’t at the airport when he went to meet it. He also claims the body was badly decomposed because it wasn’t properly embalmed.

Christopher Robles, Olaya’s lawyer, said the airline gave his client conflicting stories.

“First, they didn’t know where her body was. Then, they said maybe it was in Miami, and finally they said it was in Guatemala,” the lawyer said Tuesday. “Instead of sending it on the flight to Guayaquil, American sent the body to Guatemala City.”

The lawyer said Olaya could not collect his wife’s remains until April 4. “The body was missing for four days,” he said.

Funeral director Kathleen DeRiso said someone at American punched in the wrong airport code.American spokeswoman Jennifer Pemberton said her company was researching the situation but could not comment.