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UPDATE: St. Luke's Hospital security officer finds stolen ashes and returns them to Missouri family

Posted at 4:43 PM, May 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-09 17:43:10-04

Last month, we told you about a Missouri woman who was the victim of a disheartening crime. A thief bashed out her car windows and stole irreplaceable items from her car.

It happened while Naida Shipp was visiting Kansas City from Springfield a few weeks ago. While she was inside a restaurant in Westport, someone broke into her car and stole a laptop bag. But instead of a laptop, the thief got away with her brother's ashes.

Shipp's brother David died a few years ago. Since then, she has brought his ashes along on her vacations as a way of remembering him. While the thief is still on the loose, he or she did return the ashes.

St. Luke's Hospital security guard Blain Hartman spotted the box under a tree only feet from where they were stolen and returned the irreplaceable contents to their rightful owner. 

"She was very happy," he said. "She kept thanking me over and over. When she came and picked it up Sunday, she actually gave me a hug and took a picture with me. She was so happy. It was a really, really good feeling."