ELGIN, Ill. (AP) — A Vietnam War veteran was buried at an Illinois national cemetery this week after no family members stepped forward in the months after his death.

Now relatives are saying they had been searching for Stephen Myerson for years. They didn’t know his whereabouts until a cousin heard a radio report about his funeral Tuesday.

Irene Donovan says the 72-year-old Myerson was estranged from his family. Donovan says she had been searching for Myerson on the internet and even consulted a friend who was a police chief.

Donovan says Myerson’s mother lives in a nursing home and doesn’t know about her son’s death. Myerson died in September at an Elgin health care center.