LAWRENCE, Kan. — A Lawrence man says that car thieves took more than his vehicle – the took his mother’s ashes as well.
William Patterson reported his car stolen from a Dillon’s grocery store on April 10th, exactly one month after his mother, 49-year-old Angela Capell, died.
After his mother’s death, Patterson could no longer afford their home and became homeless. He kept everything he owned in the white Oldsmobile Alero that his mother left him, including her ashes.
“Her ashes were actually in the car, all of my paper documents were in the car I have nothing now, no license no birth certificate, no social security card at the moment,” said Patterson. “All of my clothes, everything of value to me is in that car.”
Patterson says that he lost his job because he no longer has a car to get to work. But he says what bothers him the most, is losing his mother’s ashes.
“My dad wasn’t around a whole lot when I was younger, so my mother was the only one who was there for me,” said Patterson. “And to lose her at this point in my life, as well as have her ashes stolen from me so shortly after, it was just crippling essentially.”
On Tuesday, a good friend of Patterson’s says she spotted the Oldsmobile at the same Dillons where the car was stolen. She says it was easy to spot because the car had been tagged by vandals a year ago – someone had spray painted a red smiley face on the hood.
Lawrence Police reviewed surveillance video from the Dillon’s grocery store but told FOX 4 that because the the sighting was late at night, the video is grainy and inconclusive.
Patterson just hopes someone will return the ashes, if not the car
“Just having the piece of my mother come back to me…. is all that really matters to me,” said Patterson.
If anyone spots the 2001 Oldsmobile Alero with the red smiley face on the hood and silver spoilers in the back are asked to call the Lawrence Police Tips Hotline at (785) 843-TIPS.
