SAN ANTONIO – The body of a 25-year-old woman was stolen from a Mission Park Funeral Home North on Cherry Ridge.
Friday morning, the father of Julie Mott made a plea to the community. "We just want our daughter's remains returned so, we can have some closure to our grief," said Tim Mott.
Investigators believe Mott's remains were stolen Saturday, Aug. 15, after her services and before the funeral home closed for the night. Employees discovered the body was missing Sunday morning.
"There wasn't any forced entry to the facility," said Sgt. Javier Salazar. "So, what it's believed is between the hours of 1:30 p.m. when the service ended to about 4:30
p.m. when they locked up for the evening, someone came in and stole Ms. Mott's remains. That person remains at large."
Mott died of complications with cystic fibrosis on Aug. 8 and was a family friend of Dick Tips, the owner of the funeral home.
"I can't believe this is happening to such dear friends of mine and she's a dear friend of mine," said Tips. "This is a person that I know. This is a person that I know and I want her back."
Right now, it's not clear how her body was carried out. There are no surveillance cameras on the property and the facility is open to the public.
Tips said they will be making changes to their security, which would include closing off some doors.
Salazar said that as far as a person of interest, police are not ruling anything out.
However, Tips said he believes it may be someone who didn't agree with the fact that Mott was scheduled to be cremated this past Monday.
"We think it is possible that the fact that someone didn't believe in the cremation process, versus the traditional burial process," said Tips.
Tips is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. The number to call is 210-225-TIPS (8477).
