When 86-year-old Ruth Mayer lost her battle with ovarian cancer in August, her children held a celebration of life at VanDusen Garden.
"She always talked about being cremated, she never wanted to be buried," said daughter Bettina Sander.
Mayer's ashes were split between a large urn her daughter keeps in the Dunbar home they shared, and a smaller urn that was destined for her son in Montreal.
"I had packaged it up, put his address on it and put it in the car and was going to mail it off," said Sander. "I didn't get to mailing it off that day, and it was still in the trunk of my car."
When she returned to her vehicle Sunday morning, her car had been rummaged through, and the package containing the urn was gone.
"I was angry. I was in disbelief. I also felt bad myself -- I shouldn't have left it in the car," said Sander.
She's hoping the thief simply discarded the package once they realized what was inside.
"If the community could keep an eye out for the urn," she pleaded. "Maybe look through your garbage and recycling if it hasn't been picked up. Please scan the bushes if you can."
For the thief, the urn has no value. But for Ruth Mayer's family, it's irreplaceable.
"We need to have it back," said Sander. "It was a piece of my mom, and it belongs to my brother. It had a lot of meaning."
