Coloradans try to track down a family missing a loved one after finding urn at Aurora car wash
It sounds like a Halloween prank, but a couple who found an urn at an Aurora car wash say it's anything but funny. They are now hoping that someone recognizes it.
Riley Webb was cleaning out his car at Happy Henry's Car Wash earlier this month when he saw what he thought was a vase next to a trash can.
"I go over and I pick it up and I look at it and I'm like -- this is heavy," said Webb. He quickly realized it was an urn.
"I thought about putting it back but I'm like -- I can't do that this is somebody," said Webb.
After agonizing over what to do, Webb finally decided to bring the urn home.
"When I seen it as soon as he walked through the door I knew exactly what it was and I'm like no no no," said Webb's girlfriend, Laquita Mitchell. Though initially unsettled by the urn, she soon agreed they had to do whatever they could to find its owner.
"We are still breathing and living so why not find out where it belongs," said Mitchell.
The couple have never opened the urn out of respect, but say by holding it they believe there are ashes inside.
"I'm sure that somebody is missing this, that it was stolen out of a car or home, because who else would just take an urn and dump it?" said Webb.
The couple called Aurora police, but say they were told there was nothing authorities could do. So they began investigating on their own. That included calling the car wash, which told them their security footage showed a red car with no license plates dropping off the urn on Oct. 16.
"They pulled up, they dropped that urn off, that's all they did and drove off," said Mitchell.
The car wash did not respond to CBS News Colorado's request for comment, but did tell Mitchell that the security footage of the car has since been lost.
The couple continued on their mission, reaching out to churches, mortuaries and even authorities in the United Kingdom after finding reports of an identical urn stolen there earlier this year.
They posted on Nextdoor and Facebook, receiving many responses, but none claiming to be the urn's owner. One woman offered to safely store the urn and help in the search, so the couple turned it over to her on Saturday. Now, they're working together to track down a family missing a loved one.
"To cure somebody's heart, because I know that it was taken from somebody. I'm sure that they're upset and hurt and in agony," said Webb.
Contrary to what the couple says they were told, Aurora police told CBS News Colorado they will accept the urn into evidence, but can't guarantee they will take action to find the owner.
If you recognize this urn, reach out to police, or contact CBS News Colorado.