'It's terrible': Family searches for urn containing ashes stolen from Victoria home
A Victoria family is reaching out to the community in an effort to track down a stolen urn that contained a family member's ashes.
Victoria police say the urn is believed have been stolen sometime between July 27 and Aug. 1, when the home was unoccupied.
Resident Madeline Milne says she heard about the theft on Monday afternoon. Milne has been in Kelowna for work for the past several weeks, and her roommate had been gone for the August long weekend.
When her roommate returned on Monday, she noticed the back door of the home was open.
"She didn't immediately notice anything was missing but then (after) a quick look around she realized the urn was missing," said Milne.
Milne says there was no sign of forced entry.
The roommate called Victoria police and Milne's family posted an appeal on social media for help tracking down the urn.
Since then, the post has garnered thousands of reactions and more than 600 comments, according to Milne.
"That box has been in our family for about 15 years now, and it's very sentimental," she said.
The urn, known as a bentwood box, was purchased by Milne's mother after her stepfather passed away.
A portion of her stepfather's ashes, and all of her mother's ashes, were inside of the box when it was stolen, she says.
"It's terrible," she said. "My mother would probably care less (about the box), but just the indignity of being tossed into a garbage can or on the side of the road, that's horrific."
According to police and Milne, nothing else was stolen from inside the home.
"I can tell you this feels very disappointing and somewhat disturbing to learn that a family member – family members in this case – ashes were in the urn that was clearly targeted," said Victoria police Const. Cam MacIntyre.
"When you look at all the other available options in what that thief could have targeted, and they took the urn," he said.
Milne learned some positive news on Tuesday afternoon, however.
She says someone from Sands Funeral Home contacted her on Monday evening saying they had received some ashes over the weekend.
The funeral home then set out to identify the remains, and on Tuesday afternoon the funeral home told Milne that the ashes were confirmed to be her mother's.
The remains of her stepfather, and the bentwood box itself, remain missing at this time.
Milne's mother, Moralea Milne, was a Metchosin municipal councillor who died in a car crash in 2018. This past weekend marked the third anniversary of her passing.
Anyone with information on the urn or the incident is asked to call Victoria police at 250-995-7654 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.