CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Kentucky family is desperate to say goodbye to their father, who died in the Queen City last Friday, but the cost of transporting his body back to Kentucky stands in their way.
Harold "Rocky" Perry's daughter Rana says her father felt fine, as far as she knew, when he left Kentucky to visit family in Charlotte. On Dec. 18, he had a sudden heart attack and died.
"It was just, slap in your face," Rana Perry said. "Didn't even see it coming."
The cost of transporting the body to Owingsville, Ky., is about $1,700 and it's money the family doesn't have. They've begun putting cans around town, asking for donations. They even opened a special bank account to accept donations at the Salt Lick Deposit Bank in Kentucky.
The family is especially panicked because they fear they can't raise the money quickly enough.
Guidelines from the North Carolina state medical examiner's office say unclaimed bodies can be cremated after 10 days in North Carolina, and the family is under the impression that they have to transport the body before that deadline.
The Mecklenburg County medical examiner's office told NewsChannel 36 they'll work with the Perrys and don't plan to cremate Rocky Perry without permission.
"My dad didn't want to be cremated and none of us want him to be," Rana explained.
She says her father had hoped to be buried alongside two siblings and his father in Owingsville.
"I need my daddy home. I need my daddy back here in Kentucky. I need to see my daddy one more time and I just hope there are good people out there to help me," Rana said.
The family has established the "Harold Perry Memorial Fund" at the Salt Lick Deposit Bank. Contact 606-674-2801 for more information.
