Couple says son's ashes stolen from Albuquerque motel lot

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A Kansas couple who recently lost a son to a California hiking accident says their son's ashes were stolen from an Albuquerque motel parking lot.

Steven and Kathy Hunt reported the theft on Monday after they discovered their son's car and a moving truck had been burglarized.

"I just feel like I've been hit in the gut," Steven Hunt told CBS affiliate KRQE, as he broke down in tears.

The couple had stopped to rest at a Hampton Inn in Albuquerque after picking up their son's remains in California. According to the couple, someone broke into their son's car and stole the ashes.

The car was attached to a moving truck.

"I saw the glass and I saw everything was gone," Steve Hunt told the Albuquerque Journal. "It was like a kick in the stomach. It's so bad you can't process it."

Authorities say the couple's 32-year-old son, Kyle, was killed in a hiking accident two weeks ago.

Steve Hunt said their son, an aerospace engineer at The Spaceship Co. in Mojave, California, had set out on a multi-day trek on the Pacific Crest Trail near Los Angeles on Feb. 11

"He was living his dream, he loved what he was doing," Kyle's mom, Kathy, told the station.

The couple was on a 1,500 mile trip back to their small hometown in Wamego, Kansas.

They say thieves stole some of Kyle's belongings: a flat-screen TV, a backpack, a duffel bag and a framed collection of photos. Also stolen was a suitcase holding a cardboard box, wrapped in a treasured blanket. Inside the box were the remains of their son. Kyle's hiking backpack, and the memorial board his co-workers made, were also gone, according to CBS affiliate KRQE.

"How could they take those things?" Kathy cried. "They aren't of any value to anybody but us," said Kathy. "To us they're priceless. They're our way to heal from a horrible loss."

While walking through the damage, Kathy made a small, but priceless discovery. A small box labeled "Items for the funeral" was still on the passenger floor board.

The box contained mementos from some of Kyle's milestones. Kathy pulled out one of her son's Cub Scout awards, a graduation photo, and his master's degree.

The grieving mother held tightly a recent photo of her son smiling. "There he is," she told KRQE News 13. "At his happiest, at the top of a mountain."

"We ask the people of Albuquerque to help us find our son, so we can take him home," Kyle's mom made a heartfelt plea to the local community.

Steve Hunt said Kyle set out on a multi-day trek on the Pacific Crest Trail near Los Angeles on Feb. 11.

Albuquerque police are investigating the case but so far no arrests have been made.

The couple says they'll stay in Albuquerque another day, hoping the thieves return the ashes.

The box with Kyle's ashes were wrapped in a fleece handmade black and beige blanket with images of airplanes that his grandmother made for him as a child. The blanket and ashes were in a small, light blue bag.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Albuquerque Police Department, or call 242-COPS.

"It's going to be so hard to leave," Kathy Hunt said. "I just can't imagine driving away."