By: Lanetra Bennett | WCTV Eyewitness News

May 9, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- The body of a Tallahassee native is now heading home.

29-year-old Shanique Baker died in China last month, where she was living and teaching.

After another slight delay on Tuesday, Al Hall, the funeral director for Tillman's Funeral Home in Tallahassee, says he's been assured the body will leave China on Thursday and will arrive in Atlanta late on Friday. The body will then be picked up and be brought back.

Baker's family has been fighting to get her body shipped home since her death on April 12. The big challenge of raising the money to bring her body back has been met.

Now, Baker's father is hoping to eliminate so much red tape to make the process easier for families in the future.

Hall says the biggest the biggest challenges getting the body shipped from China are the 12-hour time difference and the language barrier. He says there has been a lot of paperwork to fill out and it's always sent in Chinese.

He also says usually the brunt of the work is on the funeral home that's doing the shipping, not the receiving. This time, that isn't the case.

Hall explained that different rules in China are making it hard to get answers for the family.

"It gets tough because you can't promise anything," he said. "I like to make a commitment and stand by it. But, when your ship is being piloted by someone else, all you can say is the latest information I have, it appears that. Nothing is done in concrete."

Congressman Al Lawson told WCTV he promised Baker's dad that he'll look into it, and his office has been in contact with the family trying to assist during the ordeal.

"It's bad when you lose a loved one, but it's even worse when you don't know how and who to contact in order to get your loved one back for a final resting place," Rep. Lawson said.

"What are some of the things that we need to do to make sure that when you have an emergency in a situation like this, what protocol would be," Lawson continued. "That's one of the things that no one knows and it's not very clear. You see this thing happening right in your own back yard. You want to do something about it but, you got to go with another government, you got to go through various steps."

Pretty much everything is now in the hands of Tillman's Funeral Home.

By: WCTV Eyewitness News

May 8, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- The funeral director says the body will be shipped from China Wednesday morning in U.S. time, and will arrive at the airport in Atlanta on Saturday.

Tillman Funeral Home employees plan to drive to Atlanta to get the body and drive it back to Tallahassee.

By: WCTV Eyewitness News

May 7, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- Family members of Shanique Baker say things are on track to have her body shipped from China this week.

The family says all of Baker's paperwork is cleared with Chinese officials and now, all business is being handled between the funeral homes in Beijing and Tallahassee.

By: Lanetra Bennett | WCTV Eyewitness News

May 4, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- The body of a 29-year-old Tallahassee woman is closer to coming home.

Shanique Baker died on April 12, just days after doctors discovered a tumor on her brain while in China, where she had been teaching.

Baker's family tells WCTV a case worker out of Congressman Neal Dunn's Panama City office made calls on Friday and spoke with the Chinese embassy and the funeral home in China.

Dunn's office said they asked the same questions Baker's family had been asking as to why it has been so difficult having her body shipped from overseas.

The family said they were told one issue is shipping a body instead of cremated remains takes longer. The case worker told the family on Friday the body should be ready to ship by Tuesday, May 8.

The family needs $20,000 to embalm and ship the body home. To donate,

.

By: Lanetra Bennett | WCTV Eyewitness News

May 3, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- A mother is struggling to bring her daughter home who died while abroad in China.

WCTV has been reaching out to elected officials and national organizations to see if they can help bring Shanique Baker's body home, hoping for better results than her family has been getting over the past three weeks.

"The embassy, you can never get through," said Margie Howard, Baker's aunt. "You call and call, nobody ever answers. They dismissed the power of attorney and we had to do that paperwork over again. Ivory (Shanique's father) having to pay for every piece of paper he sends to China. In the meantime, Shanique is stuck in China.

"Saying that things were not done the right way. Well, what is the right way?" asks Howard. "We're in America, we don't know unless you tell us. And nobody is talking to us."

Tillman Funeral Home in Tallahassee is working with the family to get answers.

"Difficult is an understatement," said Al Hall, the Tillman Funeral Home director. He says what's different about this case is there isn't an isolated facilitator working with the family or funeral home to take care of the business between China and Tallahassee.

"We've tried to contact the embassy, the Chinese embassy, the Consulate," Hall said. "It's like everybody we've contacted, they're at a loss as to what to do."

"No doctor talked to her dad or mom. The mentor calls and says she passed. Is this all her life meant to the people of China and she's trying to teach your children English?" Howard said.

Language has been another hurdle.

Documents are sent in Mandarin, and translating takes up more valuable time. The only thing understandable to the family on the death certificate is Sahnique's first name.

"I know she's gone," Baker's mother, Lisi Melett, said. "But, not having closure, and I don't think I will until she's here. So, right now, I'm kind of numb. I just want her home and be able to put her at rest and move on."

The family says they've been able to get word from some elected officials on getting some help. They met with Senator Bill Nelson's office on Thursday morning and Congressman Neal Dunn has said they are reaching out to the family.

Hall says he's recently gotten word from China that it may be possible to get Shanique's body around May 8th.

Although, Shanique's family says getting to this point has seemed way too difficult.

The offices of U.S. Representative Neal Dunn, and U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson have been in contact with the family to try to help.

The family's GoFundMe account has gained a little bit of traction. The family needs $20,000 to embalm and ship the body home. To donate,

.

By: Lanetra Bennett | WCTV Eyewitness News

May 2, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- A Tallahassee family is dealing with the sudden loss of their daughter and is struggling to bring her body home.

Shanique Baker died of a brain tumor in China almost a month ago.

Baker was following her dreams and teaching overseas in Xi'an, China. She'd been living there for a year.

In addition to grieving their loved one, her family is also dealing with other frustrations. Family members say they didn't get help, support or proper communication from any government or health officials while trying to get to their dying daughter.

"To not have the support that I thought by putting certain people in office, and they don't even give you the time of day. Dealing with that and getting doors slammed in your face. Right now, that part is harder than her being gone," said Shanique's mother, Lisi Melett.

Melett says her daughter died while the family jumped through hoops. "Just trying to get her home, that's what's consuming and hard for me," she said.

Doctors found a tumor on Shanique's brain April 6, but required her parents consent, in person, to do surgery.

Meanwhile, her father couldn't get an emergency passport, because Melett says the hospital didn't send a letter they were told they needed.

"We didn't get any help. Everything they asked us to do, they would turn around and reject the papers, paperwork that we had to pay for would just be rejected and not given a reason why. We just had to start the process over," said Melett.

Shanique was given 72 hours to live after a few days in the hospital.

Melett says she spoke to her over video chat. She said, "Right before the end of the conversation, she said, 'Mom I'm scared.' I said, what are you scared of? She said, 'I'm just scared.' I said, well baby, don't be scared. We're doing the best we can."

Melett says they finally got authorization for Shanique to fly home before the surgery, but she died April 12.

"She was scheduled to leave China on the 13th and arrive home on the 14th. But, she never made it," Melett said.

"I'm mad, I'm angry. I'm very angry," said Shanique's aunt, Margie Howard.

Howard is upset they still can't see Shanique.

The family says it's been facing bureaucratic hurdles from the Chinese government.

Family members were told to come up with $20,000 before the body can be embalmed and shipped.

"All we want is a body, her body, to come back to the U.S. embalmed, so we can recognize her by something, if nothing but the fingertips. The child, she's gone. She's dead. At least let us have the body back," Howard said.

The $20,000 is just for embalming and shipping. There will still be the regular funeral home costs once the body is finally is back in Tallahassee.

"I just continue to pray, and ask god to open doors so I can get my baby home," said Melett.

A Go Fund Me account is set up to help raise money. To donate,

.

WCTV has reached out to the embassy, and has not been able to speak to anyone about this matter.