Dear John: I am lost and don’t know what to do at this point.

My issue all began with the passing of my mother last December. I had a wonderful service for her in Indianapolis.

I was to have received her cremains shortly afterward. They were sent via overnight mail to my home in Atlanta on Jan. 7, but never arrived.

I contacted the funeral home and the Indianapolis post office — then the blame game started. No one wants to be accountable for the cremains not arriving.

I know that the federal government was locked down at the time, but I don’t think anyone cares that this is my mother. I have spoken to countless people. I submitted a claim against the post office, but never received a response.

I would love if you could offer any kind of assistance. This has been going on for a year, and I am at my wit’s end.

Please help me! I will assist in any way that I can.

This has caused so much chaos and confusion in my family, as I am being blamed and outcast. C.L.

Dear C.L.: First, I’m sorry to hear about the death of your mother. That in itself is enough trauma.

On top of that, the rest of your situation is almost unimaginable.

You contacted me more than a month ago, and I immediately got in touch with my sources at the United States Postal Service in Washington and several of the cities involved. And I believe that put the sleuths into action — big time.

I check with them every couple of weeks but, unfortunately, there isn’t good news. The container with your mother’s ashes still hasn’t been located. And this is getting to feel like the post office’s version of a “cold case.”

Here’s the latest message I got from the USPS: “First and foremost, the Postal Service offers our deepest condolences to the family. We have been in contact with the family and are very aware of their desire to locate the missing cremains as soon as possible. We regret that, to date, the cremains have not been located, but the search is continuing.”

“Let me assure you that the Postal Service does its utmost to ensure these packages are handled properly and with respect. In the very rare instance a package of this sensitive nature is found to be missing, we do a thorough search throughout the facilities the package traveled through, and staff at every level is notified of the missing package,” a spokesperson said.

“If the package is found and there is no identification included, the cremated remains are kept indefinitely,” she added.

I know that’s little consolation to you and your family, but that’s the postal service’s answer.

What’s puzzling is that you claim not to have heard from the postal service while it claims to be in touch with “the family.” So maybe someone else in your family has also taken up this cause.

Anyway, I’ll stay on top of this. But as of now there is no good news.