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May 29, 2009 6:30 pm US/Central
Aledo Burglars Steal Cremated Ashes Of 23-Year-Old
ALEDO (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A family near Azle is pleading with burglars to return the remains of their daughter
Judd and Betty Putnam have suffered the loss of their daughter -- twice. It was a 2003 hit and run boating wreck that took the life of 23-year-old Laura Putnam.
It took two weeks for her body to be found in a Central Texas lake. "It was because of that, that we had to make the hard decision to have her cremated," explained Laura's father, Judd. "And when did [cremate her], we kept her ashes and it kind of felt like there was a part of her still with us."
When the Putnam's came home Thursday they'd realized they'd lost their daughter again. While the couple had hardly noticed the tire tracks the burglars had left in the driveway, they did notice some jewelry missing and then found out they'd lost their most precious possession of all.
"They took it from there," Judd said pointing to a nightstand in the bedroom where now only a picture of Laura, in a blue formal gown, and two tiny porcelain statues stand.
The oak box with Laura's remains was gone, perhaps mistaken for a jewelry box because it was small and ornate.
"Up to that point I was mad because they'd taken my jewelry and mad they'd come into my house," Betty Putnam said of her initial reaction to the burglary. "But when I realized they'd taken that urn, I feel like it kind of destroyed me."
The Putnam's had hoped to have their daughters remains buried with them.
The family is offering a reward and a promise to let the burglars off, if they return the remains. "They [ashes] can be left at a funeral home or a fire station or any public building," suggested Judd. "Just give me that box back. I don't care about the other two jewelry boxes."
"It would mean the world to me," said Betty. "We lost her once and we've lost her again. This way we'd be getting part of her back. And that's all we want is to just get that part of our daughter back… so that she can stay with us."
Minutes after this story aired on CBS 11 News at 6pm, reporter Joel Thomas was contacted by the Parker County Sheriff's Department and informed that Laura Putnam's ashes had been recovered.
A deputy was able to locate the ashes after an anonymous tip was phoned in to a local newspaper. The urn was found at an oil well site, about 400 yards down the road from the Putnam house.
The urn had been placed in a plastic department store shopping bag and left so that searchers could find it.
The Putnam's told Joel that they are "overjoyed". Judd said his wife is so happy that he would, "have to tie her feet to the floor, to keep her from flying off."
Judd and Betty credit the media coverage with 'guilting' the criminal/criminals into returning the remains.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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