When cemetery workers at Kona Memorial Park dug into the ground on May 3 to disinter an urn containing the ashes of Richard L. Rees Sr., there was nothing there. No vault, no urn, no trace of Rees' remains.

The discovery left Rees' son, Richard "Rick" Rees Jr., aghast.

He had waited years for approval to inter his father, who served in the Merchant Marine during World War II, at Punchbowl, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. When that approval finally came, he made arrangements with Kona Memorial for disinterment.

"The staff, the groundskeepers (at Kona) were nice about it, but they couldn't explain what had happened to my father's ashes," Rees said.

"I didn't know what to do. The ceremony was scheduled for today at Punchbowl, my mother was flying in from the Mainland, and they couldn't find my father. It was terrible," Rees said yesterday.

Kona Memorial personnel continued looking for the remains. "They were digging holes all over the place, but they finally called and told me they were giving up. They couldn't find him," Rees said.

Rees talked to officials at Punchbowl, explained the situation, and asked if it was possible to bring an urn with "mementoes of my father — a picture of him in uniform, things like that."

But Punchbowl said that was against regulations. Officials there suggested an alternate plan, saying that a granite memorial could be placed in another section of the cemetery, commemorating veterans whose remains have never been recovered, Rees said.

He called his mother, Jane Rees, and explained the situation. "She was just frantic about this at first, but she calmed down and accepted what was happening."

Jane Rees flew to Honolulu from her home in San Francisco to attend the memorial ceremony yesterday morning at Punchbowl.

As taps sounded, a large American flag was folded and presented to Mrs. Rees "with the thanks of a grateful nation."

"I was absolutely stunned when I heard the news" about the missing funeral urn, she said after the ceremony.

"I feel better about it now; at least there's something we can visit to remind us of him," Mrs. Rees said.

"But I want to know what happened," she continued. "I want to know where he is."

At least once a year since Rees Sr. was interred at Kona 31 years ago, family members have visited his gravesite, left flowers and paid their respects.

Now they're left to wonder if the man they mourned was ever there.

Rees Sr. was a shipping industry executive, rising to the presidency of C.F. Sharpe & Co., overseeing shipping for that company in Japan and Korea.

He was serving as the purser on Matson Shipping's Lurline vessel as World War II broke out, Rick Rees said.

"The Lurline had left port here Dec. 5 and she became part of the Merchant Marine after Dec. 7," Rees Jr. said.

The younger Rees is a Vietnam veteran, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor as a helicopter pilot, his mother said. He went on to a career as a pilot with Japan Airlines.

"I want some answers about what's happened to my father's remains," Rees said.

"I don't know if it's a problem with their records, with their mapping system, or what the explanation is.

"But when they opened the ground underneath my father's marker, there was nothing there. My dad's vault does not exist. My dad's ashes not only are not there, there's no vault there," said Rees.

Kona Memorial Park is part of the RightStar group of companies that have been under court-ordered supervision since 2004 because of severe financial problems.

Guido Giacometti, the court-appointed official who has been in charge of the RightStar companies since late 2004, said yesterday evening, "Obviously a mistake has been made and we are working with Mr. Rees to try to resolve the situation.

"It's a very sad and unhappy situation," Giacometti said, adding that he has spoken with Rick Rees about straightening out the problem.

The RightStar companies include Valley of the Temples Memorial Park and Diamond Head Mortuary on O'ahu, Homelani and Kona Memorial Parks on the Big Island and Maui Memorial Park. RightStar also controls numerous prepaid funeral plan providers, including 50th State Funeral Plan.

The cost of Rees' interment at Kona Memorial was paid by a family friend, and there was no prepaid funeral plan.

This month, the Hawai'i attorney general's office agreed to a public auction of all RightStar assets here for a minimum sales price of $25 million. Of that amount, $9 million must be restored to trust accounts held for the benefit of some 40,000 to 50,000 customers who have purchased prepaid funeral plans.

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.