Ruth Mol's last wish was to be laid to rest with her son Timothy, who died decades earlier. But after her death last year her family discovered another tragedy: the cemetery had lost his ashes.
After Timothy's death in 1978, Ruth and her husband Eddy trusted Norwood Park Crematorium in Canberra's north to keep their child's remains safe.
But last year when Ruth died, the Mol family learned Timothy's ashes had been lost, possibly during renovation and relocation works in 1992.
"Because [Ruth] was a quadriplegic she was always in the wheelchair," Eddy said.
"She said 'I want to go to Mt Kosciuszko with my son's ashes, and be spread from the top of Mt Kosciuszko so I can fly with the angels'.
"That was her wish and we couldn't do it."
Mr Mol said he felt he had been robbed of closure over the death of his son, who died after being born prematurely.
The only physical reminder he has of Timothy is a plaque he made himself.
"You can lose your son once and it's pretty traumatic," Eddy said.
"I feel as though I've lost him twice.
"There's no closure.
"Every time I go to Mitchell I go past the cemetery and I think 'well somewhere there is my son, but where?'"
Eddy said while the crematorium's management was apologetic, efforts to find his son's remains failed.
'Great trouble' to find ashes
The story of Timothy's ashes was raised in an ACT Legislative Committee by Labor MLA Tara Cheyne, after Eddy wrote to her.
Under questioning from Ms Cheyne, Norwood Park's director Stephen Beer said management had spoken with the family and apologised, but extensive efforts to exhume the ashes were unsuccessful.
"We were obviously upset too, because we take these things very seriously indeed," he said.
Ms Cheyne told the committee she was unsatisfied with the crematorium's response, and wants the ashes found.
"Norwood Park has a responsibility to the community to assure them that their processes are watertight, and that this is a one off," she said.
Deputy director-general of City Services Jim Corrigan said they had not heard of the incident, but would be prepared to investigate.
"Without knowing the details, it sounds very distressing," Mr Corrigan said.
Mr Beer said none of the current staff worked at the crematorium at the time the children's wall was moved, and so it was difficult to know what might have happened.
"We went to great trouble to exhume [the ashes], they just weren't to be found," he said.
