Megan Plunkett’s father died after a nearly two-year battle with ALS. In addition to his ashes, the U-haul was filled with his belongings and other mementos.
SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating after a woman’s U-haul was stolen early Tuesday morning with her father’s ashes inside.
Megan Plunkett was set to begin her move to California with all of her belongings packed up in a U-haul parked outside her mother’s Belltown apartment.
Plunkett said her stepdad was going to begin driving the U-haul to California at 4 a.m. It was then that she woke up and saw a notification on her phone that her car door was unlocked. She went downstairs and discovered her car had been broken into and the U-haul truck was gone.
“I woke up this morning and I was shocked. I didn’t hear the glass, I didn’t hear the U-haul drive off, I didn’t hear any of it,” Plunkett said.
It quickly set in, her father’s ashes were inside the truck.
“My dad used to always say it’s just stuff, stuff doesn’t matter. But that does,” Plunkett said.
Megan’s father, Jerry, died in March after a nearly two-year battle with ALS.
“He was the most eccentric, artistic, I don’t want to say loud, but expressive kind of person you’ve ever met, and more than that, he was just truly like the most thoughtful person I’ve ever known,” Plunkett said.
Megan is moving to California to attend grad school, something her father encouraged before he passed. Much of the furniture and other items she was taking with her to start her next chapter were his.
“Every little thing that’s in there was a piece of him. Not to mention, there’s so many mementos, old Italian China that he and my mom collected together and beautiful art. The idea that I might not get any of the back is, is scary, honestly,” Plunkett said.
Plunkett and her family are offering a $10,000 reward for her father’s ashes to be returned. Megan and her sisters planned to spread his ashes in California, the place he loved the most and where they spent time as a family.
“That’s why, more than anything, I really want his ashes back, because he’s truly like the staple, a pillar in my life. The idea of not having him, even if it is in ash form, is devastating. It’s really detrimental,” Plunkett said.
Seattle police have not made any arrests. The department said 86% of stolen vehicles are recovered.
Anyone with information about the theft is urged to contact plunkettrewards@gmail.com or the Seattle Police Department.