FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Imagine reconnecting with your father, only to lose him again. For Austin Baker, it’s a heartbreaking reality that has a new wave of grief.
“We moved here. He moved to the East Coast and then he found me on Facebook about eight years ago,” Baker said, referring to his father. “He passed away two months ago, two days before Christmas. A year before that, he was diagnosed with stage-four bladder cancer.”
Baker says after his father passed, his cousin shipped the ashes from the East Coast to his home in Fort Collins. The problem is, he never got the package and believes someone stole it.
“Knowing that once you open the package, you know what’s inside of it, I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t try to get them back,” Baker said.
He created a sign that he posted in his front lawn, even creating a Craigslist page offering $500 for whoever returns the precious package.
“Having that stripped away,” Baker said. “I just wanted that closure, you know… conquer a 14er with him and get to the top and let him rest in peace on top of a mountain.”