A grieving B.C. mom was left shaken last weekend after airport security forced her to pull her son’s ashes out of a plush carrier.

Victoria resident Marney Mutch was devastated after her 20-year-old son Rhett died in November. Rather than keep his ashes in a traditional urn, she decided to put them in a stuffed ladybug toy.

“He’s in there,” Mutch said. “At night it actually feels like I’ve got my arm around him, and it’s all I’ve got.”

She flew the remains to Toronto five weeks ago to spend time healing with family and friends, and never had a problem with airport security. But on Sunday, during a stop at Vancouver airport on the way home, screeners flagged the toy.

Mutch told them about her son’s ashes, and was allegedly told to remove them anyway. She said the fact she was carrying a certificate of cremation with her didn't seem to matter either.

“It was just too bad, so sad, this is what we do,” she said. “I said 'there is no way on earth I’m taking my son’s ashes out of this.'”

After arguing with security, including a supervisor, Mutch finally relented and opened up the plush ladybug.

“I had to root through it and undo all of the stuffing that I’d neatly put in and I pulled the bag out,” she said. “At that point I just plunked it on the counter and I said, 'There you are – my son’s remains.'”

By the time the dispute was over, she had missed her flight.

According to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, travellers can carry cremated remains on airplanes provided they’re in carriers that can be scanned by X-ray.

Plastic, cardboard, and cloth containers are most likely to be permitted, according to CATSA, while metal, stone and ceramic containers are the least likely to pass security.

Given the rules, Mutch said she can’t understand why her stuffie, nicknamed “Rhett the lovebug,” was flagged in the first place.

“It was in what it was supposed to be in,” she said.

CATSA has apologized to Mutch and launched an investigation into what happened. It said it plans to use the findings to improve service.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Maria Weisgarber