Plea for toddler’s stolen ashes

‘‘I don’t have much money, but I’ll pay you what I have.’’

That is a distraught grandmother’s message to the thieves who stole her grandson’s ashes from her car.

Rylan Peterson died in August 2016 after months of treatment at Christchurch Hospital for a rare brain tumour. He was two years old.

The theft took place on what would have been the Mosgiel toddler’s fourth birthday.

Tracy Peterson kept a small amount of her grandson’s ashes in a blue jewellery box in her handbag, to carry him around with her. Peterson planned to drive from Christchurch to Dunedin yesterday – Rylan’s birthday.

She packed the car on Tuesday evening. When Peterson went to leave her Palmers Rd, New Brighton, property, she noticed her handbag was missing. She hunted through the car and combed the house, before discovering the break in.

A pair of sunglasses, a laptop and other personal items were missing. Her car seat had been tampered with. A flash drive containing precious photos of Rylan with his cousin was gone.

Peterson felt mortified, violated, ‘‘helpless and heartbroken’’. The theft seemed especially heartless on such a difficult day.

Peterson had one message for the burglar: ‘‘[The ashes] mean nothing to you, but they’re the world to me. I don’t care about the stuff, but please just return Rylan and the flash drive.’’

She believed it was a matter of time until police found the thief, or the person realised what they had done and came forward.

‘‘I don’t care about charges or any of that, it really doesn’t matter to me, I only care about [Rylan]. It’s not like I can ever get any more ashes. This is it. I need them back,’’ she said.

Anybody with information about the theft was urged to contact their nearest police station or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.