Regional Industry & News

Salina family pleads for return of stolen ashes after burglary

SALINA, Kan. — A Salina family is asking for the public’s help after a burglary left a home ransacked and a loved one’s ashes missing.

Police said the homeowner returned to find the house ransacked and several items stolen. Among them was a light pink urn decorated with roses, containing the ashes of the family’s grandmother.

‘Gut-wrenching’

Amanda Kirby, whose father-in-law’s home was broken into, described walking into the scene.

“I mean it was gut-wrenching, I walked in and was like — stuff was everywhere, you can’t even imagine walking into a house like that,” Kirby said.

The family had planned to take the grandmother’s ashes to north central Kansas as a final resting place.

“The ashes of my husband’s grandmother were taken, and for ungodly reasons I don’t know why people would do something like that — it’s obviously an urn,” Kirby said.

Suspect captured on camera

A neighbor reported seeing a man leaving the area as the homeowner arrived. Cameras in the area captured a possible suspect, according to Salina Crime Stoppers.

Kirby said the other stolen items are not the family’s concern.

“Everything else just does not matter at all to us — that’s, that’s just all we want,” Kirby said.

Reward offered

Salina Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. The family is also offering $300 of their own money for information.