Mom Is Holding Out Hope for the Return of Son's Urn That Was Stolen in a Home Robbery

Parents

Having to contend with theft is stressful and traumatizing in and of itself. But for a mom from Washington state, a recent home robbery also lead to heartbreak, as the thief took her son Jacob's urn. Late last month, Melissa Carter posted a plea on Facebook, hoping it could lead to the precious item's return.

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"Praying my little Jacob can come back to me," Carter wrote. "I am so heartbroken that someone broke into my home while I was gone and took his urn. That’s all I had of my baby. Keep everything else, but please bring him home to me. For those that are wondering, many other items were taken, but getting Jacob’s urn back is all I really care about."

Carter shared with TODAY Parents that the theft occurred on December 29. "My living room was still kind of chaotic from Christmas, but it appeared nothing had been touched," she said. "My computer was still here, my TV was still here, but I noticed that all the bedroom doors were open... I turned to my left and I saw that son's door is wide open, and I see his bedroom door completely smashed in. I immediately realized someone broke into my home."

Carter immediately called the police, staying on the line with them as she searched for stolen items. Tablets and other Christmas presents remained untouched, but she noticed that someone had gone through her dresser. "The urn of my son, Jacob, was in there, along with all of my jewelry, and I noticed that the lid was off," Carter said. "All but a couple small necklaces were gone, and so I start looking around, trying to see if maybe someone realized it was an urn and dropped it, and I couldn't find it anywhere."

When she realized the urn had been stolen, she felt "panicked." Carter and the Tacoma Police Department both told TODAY that there are no leads in the case, and a forensics officer from the department came to Carter's home on December 30 and found just one full fingerprint. The investigation into the burglary is ongoing, according to police information officer Wendy Harrow, who elaborated, "We're hoping someone will find the urn, at least, and call it in. It's obviously heartbreaking for this mother."

Carter, who is also mom to a kindergarten age son named Mason, told TODAY she's a single mom who's doing her best to raise her son. But this heart-wrenching turn of events has left her shaken. "I'm also grieving the fact that somebody stole something so precious to me," she told the outlet. "It's been really hard trying to be really, really strong for my son, but inside, I feel so broken right now."

On January 3, Carter re-shared her original post, stating, "Praying someone comes forward." Under another post, a commenter advised that Carter make a flyer and share with pawn shops in the area. With hope, Carter's followers and community will do everything they can track the irreplaceable item down for this heartbroken mom.