The remains of a little girl who died aged just 12 were found placed on top of weeds and ivy in a popular park.
The wooden box containing the remains of Yvonne Harrison, who lived in Preston and died on February 3 1977, was found by a visitor to Hesketh Park in Southport last summer.
Now, 46 years to the day since her untimely death, an appeal has been launched to track down Yvonne's family.
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After being found, the casket was taken to Southport Crematorium, and was later traced to Preston, the BBC reports.
Cemetery worker Chris Brown told BBC North West: "We received a phone call from Southport crematorium. They asked if we had a record for this name. They gave me the date of death and all the information they had, and I found the deceased within our ledger."
The gold plaque on the front of the oak box reads 'Eyvonne Harrison', but Mr Brown said: "The authority card inside the casket confirms that the name is actually Yvonne."
The Register of Cremations names a James Harrison of Holme Slack, Preston, as the person who made Yvonne's cremation application.
It is hoped the information will lead to Yvonne's remains being reunited with her family at last.
A spokesperson from Preston City Council said: “We were unaware of the lost ashes until we were contacted by the BBC who had conducted some research and traced the remains back to Preston Crematorium.
“This is the first time ashes have been found like this here, so there has never been a need to appeal for an applicant before. Normally, unclaimed ashes would be brought back to us by funeral directors with their authority to scatter the ashes within our woodland.
“In this case, the BBC report will really help highlight the lost remains. We will share the BBC appeal through the council’s social media channels and publish more details on our website.
“We hope the remains can finally be reunited with the family.”
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