GREELEY, Colo. — A Texas woman got back the ashes of her parents that were stolen along with her vehicle back in April while she was in Greeley, the Greeley Police Department said Wednesday.
On April 28, Kimberly Magnusson reported her Hyundai Tucson stolen from West Greeley. She was in town from Texas to pick up the ashes of her deceased parents.
"My mom did not want to be buried without my dad," Magnusson told 9NEWS after the theft. "So, she asked us to hold onto her until he was ready to be buried so they could be buried together."
"My parents were married for 50-some years and loved each other dearly and so they wanted to be together and to have them not be able to be in their final resting place together is just heartbreaking," she added.
Also inside her stolen car was an American Flag that was given to her family in honor of her father's military service.
Greeley Police worked on the case but had few leads until nearly a month later, on May 27, when they got a call from the Hudson Police Department that their officers had located the stolen car in the parking of Loves Travel Stop.
Hudson police contacted a man inside the business and arrested him in connection with the car theft, Greeley Police said.
The suspect was booked into the Weld County Jail for aggravated motor vehicle theft, unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and false reporting to authorities.
A detective from GPD went to the jail and interviewed the suspect in an attempt to locate the ashes of Magnusson's parents.
After that interview, the detective was able to locate the ashes and her father’s flag.
“While vehicles and most items can be replaced, there are some things that no amount of money could buy. For Ms. Magnusson and her son, that was her parent’s ashes and her father’s flag from his military service," said Detective Sergeant Pfeiler about the investigation.
"I’m incredibly proud of the work Detective Burroughs and the entire unit did going above and beyond, in this case, to ultimately recover and return these irreplaceable items to the Magnusson family."
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