New Orleans police are searching for two people accused of stealing human remains from an apartment building in July.
The suspects allegedly stole “a bicycle and a package containing the remains of a deceased person” from the apartment, according to the New Orleans Police Department. They then fled the scene, police said.
Although the incident occurred in July, police released information about the case on Thursday.
The stolen vehicle’s owner, Katrina Brees, 46, later told ABC News that it had not been a bicycle, but a cargo tricycle.
The cremated remains had been those of her neighbor’s 23-year-old niece, Brees said.
Brees first became aware that the cremains had been stolen when the neighbor left a note in the building’s entryway explaining what had been in the FedEx package and asking for it to be returned. After reviewing security camera footage, Brees realized thieves had taken the package along with her tricycle.
The New Orleans Police Department has released these images seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating two suspects in the investigation of a theft that occurred on July 26, 2024 in New Orleans.
New Orleans Police Department
Bree’s neighbor, Stephanie, who asked to be identified only by her first name for privacy, told ABC News she is devastated to have lost the cremains of her niece, Brittany, who died unexpectedly last year.
Along with Brittany’s ashes, Stephanie’s family had sent a piece of art that the young woman had made before her death.
“It means I can’t let her go, I can’t deal with my grief — and I won’t either,” Stephanie said. “It was the only chance I had to receive her remains.”
Police initially said the incident occurred on July 26 but later clarified that it was July 18. They said the police report for the incident was taken on July 26.
Police shared photos and are asking for the public’s help in identifying and locating the two suspects.
New Orleans police did not provide additional information about the circumstances of the theft when asked by ABC News.
The cargo tricycle, adorned with a papier-mâché sculpture of a grasshopper’s head, was part of a fleet of miniature floats made by Bree’s Mardi Gras parade krewe, the Krewe of Kolossos.
“When it’s released into the parade, it looks like a carousel of animals riding down the street,” Brees said, noting that the grasshopper kingdom had been in use for about a decade.