Ashes of Baby Stolen by Burglars

Burglars robbed a house near Honolulu and stole valuables, jewelery and even a child's piggy bank, but they also made off with something the family called irreplaceable - the ashes of a stillborn child, KITV-TV reported .

On Monday night the family's home in Waimanalo, Hawaii, was struck while the family was out. Investigators believe the thieves went searching for jewelry and valuables and entered a bedroom where there is a memorial for the couple's infant who three years ago was stillborn at five months.

"My heart just dropped. I said, 'Are you sure?' I wanted to make sure that it was positive that they took it," Kalani Mejia, the mother, told the TV station.

Because the remains were in a pouch, similar to a jewelry pouch, the family believes the thieves thought they were grabbing jewels.

The family was also robbed of their children's piggy banks, a Nintendo game system, a wedding ring and a class ring, but the ashes are what they care about most.

"There's no monetary value, and we don't care about the things, the material things, but give us our baby's remains, his ashes," said Jason Mejia, the father.

Another family was struck by robbers who took an urn containing the ashes of a war veteran from their parked van last week in Washington, D.C. The family of Army Col. Norbert Schmidt had planned a burial service at Arlington National Cemetery, but had to hold a memorial service instead, reported MyFox DC . The family still hopes the urn will be returned.

One man in California, was lucky enough to recover a stolen locket, which contained the ashes of his wife of 25 years. Police in Lodi, Calif. arrested three brothers in connection to a rash of robberies in the community and were able to return some items to victims of the robberies, including a small blue vial that contained the ashes of the man's wife .