Connie Jacobs-Mehner lost her mother, Aurora “Rory” Landers, in June. It was a harrowing time for her family, who had just lost their stepfather, Tom Landers, in April.
“Our parents were soul mates,” said Jacobs-Mehner, one of their daughters who now lives in Arizona.
She said the month after her mother passed, the family’s grieving was compounded by a significant material loss: their parents’ South Anchorage home was burglarized. Jewelry and televisions were stolen, along with Tom Landers’s ashes.
“We just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “To take our items, it’s sad. But to take our father’s ashes? We were just devastated.”
She said police investigated the crime, but have so far been unable to determine who broke in. The Anchorage Police Department confirmed that no arrests have been made.
Jacobs-Mehner said the thieves used her parents’ truck as a getaway vehicle. It was eventually found abandoned, and Jacobs-Mehner’s sister, Paget Jacobs-Plunk, said she had to pay $400 to retrieve it from the impound lot.
Now, the family is asking for the ashes back, “no questions asked,” according to Jacobs-Mehner.
“This is something our family [and] the grandkids need. We need closure,” she said.
The family is hoping to hold a memorial service if the ashes are returned.
If you have information about the ashes, you can email the family by clicking here.
KTVA 11′s Eric Ruble can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter.
