Mother pleads for return of daughter’s stolen ashes

OWEGO, N.Y. (WBNG/Gray News) - A New York mother is asking for the community’s help after her daughter’s ashes were stolen from a storage unit last month.

Danielle Heidrich lost her daughter in 2017 and had her remains placed in a small heart-shaped urn. Last month, the urn was among several items stolen from her storage units.

“The pain of discovering that my baby girl, the only thing that I have of her, is gone, was definitely beyond heartbreaking,” Heidrich said.

How the theft was discovered

Heidrich said she learned of the break-in from a family member.

“I received a call on Tuesday from my family. They went to the storage facility that my brother’s family and myself are keeping all of our things at. And they had discovered that at least a dozen storage containers had red tags on them. And they were concerned because those are usually meaning that they’re up for auction. So, they called the facility and found out that all the units that had the tags on them were units that were broken into,” Heidrich said.

Heidrich said the break-ins happened between Aug. 24 and Aug. 29 at the Storage Rentals of America location in Owego.

“I went to the facility and discovered that they never called the police to get up a report or anything. So, we called the police, reported everything. And we did discover that my two units, both of them, had been broken into. And things were broken, torn apart, dumped. Things were stolen, including my jewelry, my class ring from high school, electronics that belonged to my son and I, and also my son’s nebulizer that he needs for his treatments. The most valuable thing that was stolen and cannot be replaced were my daughter’s, my baby girl’s ashes that were in a silver heart that was in a blue felt box that looks almost like it would be for jewelry,” Heidrich said.

Family support through a difficult year

Heidrich said the incident has been difficult, but her family has supported her throughout.

“It was... it was hard. It was definitely... I’ve been through a lot over the last year and a half with going through having to have found out that I had a brain tumor, had to have surgery for that. A few months after my surgery, my husband wanted divorce. So my son and I have been through a lot,” Heidrich said.

Heidrich said her belongings, including her daughter’s ashes, were in the storage facility because she has been preparing to move into a new home and needed a place to store her valuable items until move-in day.

“This is something that I don’t want anybody to ever have to go through. It’s very difficult. So having gone through that, if I didn’t have my family there, it definitely would have been a lot harder,” Heidrich said.

Security concerns at the facility

A visit to the Storage Rentals of America location in Owego found the office locked. The facility has cameras across the buildings and barbed wire fencing around the property.

But the front gate is just under 6 feet, with no barbed wire on top. There were also large gaps at the bottom of the fence near the gate.

Heidrich said no security footage was available from the week of the break-in.

“From what I understand, they don’t want to install cameras there because they feel like it infringes on people’s privacy. So, they don’t have it in each of the aisles where all the units are contained,” Heidrich said.

A call to the number posted on the side of the building reached an employee who said he is not allowed to share footage with anyone, and that even police would need to bring a subpoena to obtain it.

The Tioga County Sheriff’s Office was contacted regarding the status of the investigation. There has been no response as of this report.

A Mother’s plea

Heidrich said she does not want to press charges and only wants her daughter’s ashes returned.

“I mean, they might think it’s something that is of value that you could sell to a pawn shop or a jewelry facility, but it’s just a container that stores my daughter’s remains. So, obviously, I just want that back. I wouldn’t even press charges for that. I just want that to be given back to me because, again, it is the only thing I have of her,” Heidrich said.

“So, I definitely would ask that they, you know, do the right thing and, you know, maybe even drop it off at the storage facility with a no, or, you know, drop it off to the police station if they don’t feel comfortable having a friend of theirs drop it off and saying that this is something that was taken and needs to be returned,” Heidrich said.