LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — A Lincolnton family is heartbroken Monday night after they said someone broke into their home and stole their mother's ashes.
Beth Zotti was at work last week when she got a heart-breaking call from her fiancé, Dustin Hanson.
“I walked in, I see the glass on the steps and I kind of backed off and called the sheriff department,” Hanson said.
They said their home, which they were in the process of moving out of, had been broken into.
“The first thing I said is, 'Was momma there?’” Zotti said.
She wasn't.
They say a brown leather box holding the ashes of Zotti's mother Phyillis was stolen.
“There's nothing of value in there, except to me,” Zotti said.
Pictures of her mother, her death certificate, and documents of her funeral were also in that box. They said the burglar also got away with two televisions, her mother's jewelry and a coin collection.
“And that's all I have, that's what I have left of my mom, and I don't care about any of the other stuff -- they can have it,” Zotti said.
Zotti and Hanson said their neighborhood is quiet, and safe, but think the “for rent" sign in the front yard put them at risk.
They're holding out hope someone will find the ashes and return them.
“She was the sweetest person and all I think about is she's in a ditch somewhere, and I know it's just her ashes, but that's all I have left of my mom,” Zotti said.
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