The family of an Arlington-area man who was given an autopsy by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office has filed a $250,000 claim against the county because the man's remains were given to the family twice -- the second time, roughly two years after his funeral. Carolyn Sanden, deputy director of the medical examiner's office, said she had not read the damage claim and could not comment.

The family did not return calls for comment Wednesday.

Joseph L. Wright, 31, went missing the week before Christmas 2000. He was last seen walking away from the home near 130th Street NE off Jordan Road that he shared with his girlfriend.

Despite intensive searches by the sheriff's office and others, Wright's body wasn't found until May 2001 near Menzel Lake Road outside Granite Falls.

In the damage claim filed Wednesday, Wright's mother, brother and girlfriend said Wright was given an autopsy shortly after his body was found. Wright's remains were then transferred from the medical examiner's office to a Marysville funeral home for cremation and funeral services.

But this May, according to the claim, medical examiner Dr. Norman Thiersch called Viki Skorka, Wright's mother, and said some of her son's remains had not been given to her in 2001. Thiersch told her that she would need to contact the funeral home again to make arrangements for the rest of her son's remains.

The funeral home, however, said it couldn't take them because they did not do cremations of partial remains, leaving Skorka to search for a different funeral home that would. She eventually found one.

According to the claim, the remains from the first cremation weighed about 2 pounds, and the second approximately 5 1/2pounds.

Skorka, as well as Wright's girlfriend and his brother, said they suffered from emotional distress because of the delayed return of his remains.

"The actions of the medical examiner resulted in the (family) having to unnecessarily re-experience, in the bluntest possible way, the death of their son, brother and boyfriend," the claim states.

Wright's family said he suffered from schizophrenia, had been depressed and wasn't taking his medication at the time of his disappearance.

Snohomish County has 60 days to respond to the claim. If a settlement can't be reached, the family can then file a lawsuit against the county.

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