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Mother Says She Searched For Missing Son For Years While His Remains Sat At Coroner's Office

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Sheila Brown spent four long years wondering where her son went.

Now, she believes she could have been spared those years of worry.

Brown's son, Tarik Owens, 36, was reported missing nearly five years ago. He was last seen on the evening of Jan. 29, 2011 in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles.

Owens, a father to two girls, was suffering from a mental illness at the time of his disappearance, and his family was distraught immediately upon realizing that he had gone missing.

Brown contacted police and filed a missing person's report. She also supplied investigators with DNA to enter into the national missing persons database.

Over the years, she continued to walk local streets and pass out flyers, hoping to get some information.

She also said she called the detective working the case incessantly for updates on the case. But she never received answers.

In February, CBSLA.com published a story giving Owens' description and photo as she intensified her efforts to raise awareness of her son's disappearance. Still, she received no major updates.

That all changed two weeks ago.

On Oct. 27, Brown received a call from the LA County coroner's office saying that her son's remains had been at the facility since November, 2011.

His body was found near the corner of Crenshaw Blvd. and Washington Blvd. – less than a mile from where he lived.

Now, Brown feels that the system has failed her and her granddaughters, and she's looking for answers as to how her son's body could have been unidentified at the coroner's office for so long.

"I just feel I could have been spared some of that pain, had I known years prior that they had my son's remains," Brown said.

Brown's attorney said they will continue to press the coroner's office for answers.

"This is amazingly shocking," Brown's attorney, Caree Harper, said. "There's a real lapse in communication, or something else. We don't know, but we'll find out."

CBS2's request to the coroner's office for comment was not immediately returned.

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