Car prowlers dumped dead teenager’s ashes
Calgary — Colleen Ransom has been trying to keep heartbreak at bay by carrying her daughter’s ashes in a green velvet bag on daily travels.
But heartache returned when she saw that car prowlers snatched the precious pouch from its place in her unlocked pickup truck, emptied it on the sidewalk and left it to be mostly washed away by the rain.
“It was wet, we couldn’t scoop them, but I got a few anyways. It’s the only thing I have left of her,” said Ransom of 19-year-old Emma, killed four years ago in a highway crash near Nanton that claimed four lives.
“Who would do that? I realize they probably didn’t realize it was my daughter’s ashes. It’s just a violation.”
The fact that police are searching for three teenage girls believed to be behind a rash of car prowlings in the Lake Bonavista area of southwest Calgary is another disappointment.
“Why don’t you get involved in some activities? Why are you going out in the middle of the night doing things like this? Get a job,” Ransom said.
Police say three teens aged 14 to 17 were spotted by a resident early Friday near vehicles parked near 10th Street S.E. and Wapta Rise S.E.
Two were carrying sports bags and they are suspected of trying their luck with unlocked doors.
Their bounty included spare change and small things, including sunglasses and Ransom’s daughter’s turquoise rain jacket, police said.
“They’re teenagers and probably just out for a thrill. I don’t think they realize it, so hopefully after this they’ll think twice.
“Whoever does break-ins will realize what this has done,” said Ransom, a married mother of three.
Ransom’s choice to house her daughter’s ashes in her truck was simply a way to spend time with her memory, she said.
“I was hurt deeply. It never goes away. She’s always there. I think about her constantly. I like to keep her close to me, and I take her wherever I go,” she said.