Elgin man begs burglar to return wife's ashes

ELGIN, Ill. (WLS) -- Two years ago, Roger Stettner lost his wife Donna. Her remains were all he had of her and, now, they are gone.

Last month, someone broke in to his Elgin home while he was out. The thief only took one thing: a box that contained the ashes of his late wife.

"It almost starts you grieving again, because the anniversary of her death was just in June, too," Stettner said.

Donna's ashes, in an urn in a carved wooden box, had been by Stettner's bedside until his home was burglarized on June 6.

"Just bring it back. I don't care why you did it, or how you did it, but I just want it back. It's a part of my life for a long time," Stettner said.

The Stettners were married 53 years. Once Roger passed, they had planned to have their ashes buried together.

"At least she's in a better place, which is important," Stetter said.

Stettner asks anyone who has Donna's ashes to return them to his house or to his church, Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Grand Avenue in Elgin, with no questions asked.