Click here for updates on this story
Gresham, OR (KPTV) — The Gresham Police Department is asking for the public’s help locating an urn stolen during a recent burglary.
Police say someone stole the heart-shaped urn out of a storage unit last month. The ashes inside the urn were Denise Douglas’ daughter.
In 2006, Douglas was going to have a baby girl.
“It was the greatest moment of my life, followed by the worst moment of my life,” she said.
But seven months in, doctors told her the baby was going to be born premature and that there was nothing they could do.
Douglas’ daughter Jacinda lived 10 minutes.
“She didn’t live long enough for me to do much of anything with her. And that was the only thing I was ever able to buy her was a pretty urn for her to spend her days in,” Douglas said.
Fast forward to four months ago – Douglas says she lost her job and she couldn’t pay rent.
She says she had to move everything into a storage unit at Northwest Self-Storage in Gresham.
“I mean, that’s where I had to put everything including her, and I thought that it would be safe there,” Douglas said.
But last month she says she came to open her unit and discovered someone broke in and stole thousands of dollars of her belongings – most importantly her daughter’s urn.
“It was kind of like losing her all over again,” Douglas said. “People don’t just store their valuables in a storage unit. Some people like me, we have to store our entire lives and the things that matter most to us there.”
All she wants is the urn back and for whoever stole it to understand they took something irreplaceable.
“It means everything to me,” Douglas said. “I mean, that’s my first, last and only baby.”
Other stolen items that might be with the urn include an acoustic guitar with a split in the side and several vintage hats.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Gresham Police Department and reference case 19-34975.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
