Melissa Carter tragically lost her son in 2012 and is now pleading for the return of his ashes after her home was broken into on December 29.
Carter told Today Parents that she came home that evening to find 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 posted about the robbery on Facebook to try and raise awareness of the robbery and get the heart-shaped urn containing her son’s ashes returned. In addition to the ashes, Carter’s jewelry and her other son’s piggy bank were stolen.
“I’m a single mom, and I’m doing my best to raise my son, but I’m also grieving the fact that somebody stole something so precious to me,” Carter told Today Parents. “It’s been really hard trying to be really, really strong for my son, but inside, I feel so broken right now.”
“Praying my little Jacob can come back to me,” Carter wrote in her post. “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.”
Carter also told Today that all she cares about is getting Jacob’s ashes back, despite other things being stolen from her home. “I don’t care about the jewelry,” she said. “I don’t even wear any of it anymore. I don’t care at all if I get any of that back. I just care about that urn, and I don’t even — if somebody could come forward, drop it off somewhere, something, so I can get that back — that’s all I care about.”
Carter lost her son Jacob in 2012 when she was six months pregnant.
Police in Tacoma, Washington, where Carter lives, are currently investigating the robbery. When they arrived at the scene they were able to lift one fingerprint, but haven’t yet been able to retrieve the urn. There are currently no leads in the case.
“We’re hoping someone will find the urn, at least, and call it in,” said Tacoma police officer Wendy Harrow. “It’s obviously heartbreaking for this mother.”
Melissa Carter’s sister also made a viral plea for the safe return of Jacob’s ashes.
Carter’s sister, Stephanie McCleary, shared a similar post to Facebook, saying, “Someone broke into my sister’s home in the last 48 hours when she was gone and stole all her jewelry but also stole her sons tiny little silver urn. Can you please post a picture of it in case someone finds it or tries to pawn it? Thank you.”
Her post, as of this writing, has been shared more than 48,000 times on Facebook.
We hope someone is able to help Carter return the precious item.
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