Henry Lefebvre's Cremated Ashes Found At San Diego Car Wash; Family Steps Up To Shed Light On Mystery (VIDEO)

More than 17 years after his death, Henry Lefebvre is back in the spotlight.

The man's cremated ashes turned up at OB Suds, a San Diego-area car wash, in late October. The business owner believed a customer had apparently forgotten them after cleaning out his car 6 months ago.

Ever since, people there have been scrambling to figure out who Henry was -- and how the heck his ashes ended up in a car wash.

Thanks to a Facebook post by Liz Greene, who represents a San Diego business association, at least one part of the puzzle has been solved.

After her initial Facebook post on October 22nd (in which she wonders, "Is this a Halloween prank?"), she says she received inquiries from genealogists, local media and several of Lefebvre's family members.

Lefebvre's family told Greene that Henry was born on Oct. 30, 1900, and was a stand-out running back during his college years at USC in the 1920s (he scored the first touchdown ever at the Coliseum). In addition to his athletic prowess, reports KGTV, he was good friends with John Wayne.

And he was fabulously wealthy, too, having made millions off an invention still in wide use today: the ping-pong net.

He also founded the Sun-Aired Bag Company. According to ABC News, the company developed a system for keeping track of clothing and other items after it was checked in at swimming pools and gyms.

Today, the mystery of how, exactly, Henry's ashes ended up at a car wash goes unanswered. But at least there's a portrait of the man within.

SD News reports that one of Henry's relatives will pick the ashes up in California sometime in the next several weeks.