Ashes of former owners of Hunt's Bar and Grill in Cuyahoga Falls stolen in California

When Robert Gallagher flew into LAX on April 19, he was on a mission for two Cuyahoga Falls friends he'd known for decades.

Gallagher was carrying the ashes of David and Leslie Hunt, a couple he'd met a couple years out of high school, when they owned Hunt's Bar & Grill on Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls.

Just outside the airport that day, Gallagher stopped at a restaurant to eat. Before he was done with his meal, thieves had broken both windows in his rental vehicle and cleaned it out.

The ashes were gone, along with his belongings, including his passport.

"They took all my stuff," he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Gallagher had made a vow to Leslie Hunt to take her ashes and her husband's to her hometown, Huntington Beach. It would be their final resting place.

David Hunt died in 2009, Leslie Hunt on Dec. 23 last year. A memorial service was planned on Saturday.

Gallagher called police, but they wouldn't come to the scene of the incident.

"The police would not come to take a report, and I said, 'There's cameras here. That event was recorded,' " he said.

With the help of a friend, he was able to file a report online.

David Hunt's ashes found 40 miles away

But Gallagher's brush with Golden State hospitality wasn't over. On April 20, he received a call from Clifford-Shoemaker Funeral Home in Cuyahoga Falls.

The box containing David Hunt's ashes had been found in a parking lot outside an animal shelter in Rowland Heights. Someone had seen the funeral home's phone number on the box and called.

Gallagher drove 40 miles to the town to retrieve them.

He talked to KTLA-5, a Los Angeles television station, about the incident. He knew Leslie Hunt would have cringed at the publicity, but also knew he had to try to retrieve the ashes of both the Hunts.

"We didn't want this to happen," Gallagher said. "We had to do everything we could to try to get a better resolution."

Gallagher said Los Angeles police emailed him on Tuesday, but Leslie Hunt's ashes remain missing.

He's confident that the TV report helped spur police into action, even if Leslie Hunt's ashes aren't found.

"If we hadn't had some publicity, I don't personally think anybody would have done anything," he said.

He said he has received numerous phone calls since the news came out.

"My phone has been melting," he said.

He's not concerned about the personal items taken and was busy getting those replaced Tuesday. But Leslie Hunt's ashes can't be replaced — and that's what he's worried about.

"How do you fix this?" he said. "You can't."

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at www.facebook.com/alan.newsman.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ashes of former owners of Hunt's Bar and Grill stolen in California