Colorado woman hopes to bring remains of her father, an unclaimed veteran, home this holiday season

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- A Colorado Springs woman is hoping to bring her father’s remains home this holiday season. Meagan Heisinger says she spent years searching for information about the father she never knew.

Her journey began in January, when she says she finally took a DNA test and was connected with an “ancestry angel,” who helped her trace family matches and ultimately locate her father, James Bradley Lane.

But the discovery was not what she expected; her father was no longer alive, and his remains were nowhere near Colorado. Heisinger says he was buried as an unclaimed veteran in Washington state.

Heisinger just wants to get the remains of her dad, a Vietnam veteran, home.

Heisinger says she reached out to the VA, but they told her there is more work she needs to do, as her father's name was not put on her birth certificate.

While she did take a DNA test from the popular website Ancestry.com, she was told she would need an official paternity test using her father's DNA from the coroner's office. She's now raising money to pay for the costs and spreading the word to see if anyone can help her navigate the process.

Meagan's father was only in her life for a moment, but she says she's always wanted to reunite with him. 

"I don't want that for him, I want him to be down here with family, and where I can actually go see him, ya know. I missed out on time, and I don't wanna miss out on any more time. I wanna be able to go see him whenever I have something I wanna go tell my dad," said Meagan Heisinger.

Heisinger's ultimate goal is to bring him back to Colorado and have him buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver once she legally proves she is next-of-kin. She says it will mean petitioning the court, plus DNA testing and handling fees, costing hundreds of dollars.

"I searched forever to find him and finally this year I could do an ancestry test and I found out that I have a whole other family that I had no idea that I had," she said.

A GoFundMe for Heisinger's DNA testing and other costs can be viewed by clicking here.

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