Gatton mum makes call out to find her dad’s ashes from stolen car

A Gatton mum has made a heart-wrenching call out to help find her father’s ashes, after they were stolen with her car in a crime spree that has targeted a whole region over the past weekend.

Mimi Elliott is calling out for help to find her dad's ashes after they were stolen along with her car in a region-wide crime spree across Gatton and the Lockyer Valley. Picture: Supplied

When a Gatton mum woke up on Sunday night to find her cupboard open, she thought one of her boys had been sleepwalking, only to realise later her keys taken and her car stolen – with it a number of sentimental, irreplaceable objects.

It was 3am Monday when Mimi Elliott woke up and saw the cupboards in her kitchen were open.

She initially thought one of her boys had been sleepwalking and went back to bed, until she realised she was one of several victims of a crime spree targeting residents across the Lockyer Valley.

“When I got up at 5.50am the next morning I noticed the tiles are quite cold in my house,” she said.

“I went to have a look at what was open and I noticed that my sliding door at the side of the house was wide open and my driveway is empty.

“Of course I was devastated and then I remembered that dad’s ashes are in the car – I’ve always kept them in all of my cars.”

This month was the 12th anniversary of Ms Elliott’s father’s passing, and she had kept his ashes in a hip flask in her cars “because he wasn’t the type of person who would be boring and sit on a mantelpiece”.

Mimi Elliott is calling out for help to find her dad's ashes after they were stolen along with her car in a region-wide crime spree across Gatton and the Lockyer Valley. Picture: Supplied

“He was a bit of a mechanic, a bit of a grease monkey, he loved anything with motors and loved tinkering with the cars,” she said.

“That’s all that’s left, and I’m the only one that has any piece of him.”

Along with her dad’s ashes, prams and baby seats were also stolen from her car, and her son’s “red book” with medical records and memories of his first glasses, she said.

“People don’t realise how sentimental the tiny little things that they keep in the car are,” she said.

The mother and foster carer has put a number of call outs for help and said she is hoping to locate the Silver Nissan Murano with number plate 699YTM.

Without insurance, she can only hope that the car will be found intact with her father’s ashes and personal belongings still untouched.

“It would be awesome to find dad’s ashes but to find the car as well would be the icing on the cake,” she said.

“I hope that dad’s haunting the bejesus out of them and they are hearing all sorts of horrible voices.”

In the last 24 hours the response from the community has been amazing with friends and family offering to give her lifts and help out when needed.

Gatton Police Station officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Rowland Browne urged residents to lockup houses and make sure keys are not easy to find after the string of break-ins over the past four days.

“If you see suspicious persons or anyone in your yard or ‘checking out houses’ by all means post on social media but first call the police on triple-0,” he said.

If you have information about the recent burglaries, phone Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Originally published as Gatton mum makes call out to find her dad’s ashes from stolen car