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Nova Scotia Investigates Possible Misidentified Funeral Home Ashes

By Drooid · Sep 22, 2026, 2:40 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Families in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley learned that ashes from Serenity Funeral Home may be misidentified.
East Coast Memorial, the new owners, told families the stored ashes might belong to their relatives.
Dean Hildebrand, DNA expert at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, said extracting DNA from cremated ashes is extremely difficult.
Nova Scotia’s regulator of funeral directors and the provincial government have opened an investigation.

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Story summary

Families in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley learned that ashes from Serenity Funeral Home may be misidentified.
East Coast Memorial, the new owners, told families the stored ashes might belong to their relatives.
Dean Hildebrand, DNA expert at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, said extracting DNA from cremated ashes is extremely difficult.
Nova Scotia’s regulator of funeral directors and the provincial government have opened an investigation.