A foreign couple who had travelled from Germany to Portugal to scatter their dead son’s ashes at sea off Aveiro saw their plans fall apart when their car was targeted by a criminal, who stole all items from inside including the urn.
The young couple, who live in Germany, had spent a “much enjoyed holiday” in Portugal last year when the Russian mother was pregnant. However, after returning to Germany and giving birth, they were struck by tragedy when their son died just 19 days after being born.
The grieving couple then decided they wanted Portugal to be his final resting place. However, when they arrived in the country a thief broke into their vehicle and stole all the contents, including the urn containing the child’s ashes, reported Jornal de Notícias.
When all hopes of retrieving the urn seemed to have been lost, the couple was surprised to receive a call from the GNR police saying the urn had been found. It is believed the thief, upon realising what it was, decided to leave the urn in a field near Vagueira beach, in Vagos. A local resident found it and handed it over to the police.
Speaking to the newspaper, the father said: “We have finally been able to give our son a dignified farewell.”
