A Swedish family is grateful after an alleged thief in Paralimni, Cyprus, returned something very precious to them last week.
Kinga Bednarz and her family had planned to scatter the ashes of her deceased teenage son at Governor’s Beach when the unthinkable happened, according to Fox News.
Within 20 minutes of them leaving their rental car in the beach’s parking lot, an alleged thief broke in and stole their three suitcases, one of which contained the urn.
“The theft came to light after Bednarz reached out to local Cypriot media to appeal for information about the urn’s whereabouts. Her son died in an accident several months ago,” according to the Herald News.
At the time, Bednarz told reporters she was heartbroken over the theft because she and her husband had been searching for the perfect place to scatter their son’s ashes.
“I really do hope that the thief has human feelings and he will just get our son back because we cannot leave him here,” Bednarz commented.
However, after the family made it back to Sweden, an anonymous man called to apologize and said he meant their family no harm. He then gave them directions as to the urn’s whereabouts.
Once Bednarz called Cyprus police and relayed the man’s directions, officers quickly located the urn near a highway exit.
The couple plans to fly back to Cyprus Tuesday to retrieve their son’s ashes but are undecided as to whether they will scatter them there because they want the whole family to be present.
“Police reportedly arrested two men aged 33 and 43, and a woman, 34, in connection with the crime. All three are Cypriot nationals,” Fox News reported.
Officials were unable to locate the $224 in cash that was inside the suitcases at the time the incident occurred.
However, Bednarz said she felt “relieved and thankful” once the ordeal came to a close.