WASHINGTON — A horrifying story swiftly spread across the District’s social media platforms late Thursday. In an unspeakable tragedy, a package containing the ashes of an 85-year-old nurse was stolen.
Margaret Elizabeth Lynch died in a San Diego COVID-19 ward last month, according to her son. Unable to hold a proper memorial, Kevin Lynch had his mother’s ashes shipped to his D.C. apartment building.
But Lynch said the package containing his mother’s remains was strangely listed as "in transit" for three weeks, never listed as "delivered" to his Shaw address.
After watching surveillance video yesterday, Lynch discovered the package holding his mother’s ashes was apparently stolen. He described the video as showing a man in a hoodie taking the parcel from his apartment building’s front desk, and walking away.
"I was absolutely enraged in that moment, and then indignant and grief-stricken," Lynch said. "My mom worked nights as a nurse, and she worked tirelessly for me and my six brothers and sisters. For this to happen, after a lifetime of her caring for others, I can’t even begin to fully describe it."
DC Police confirmed the incident is now under investigation. Lynch filed a police report Thursday morning, with the crime of theft in the second degree listed as the main offense.
A friend’s post on Lynch’s behalf on the neighborhood networking site Nextdoor elicited outrage and condolences from across the region.
"This is the most horrific porch pirate story ever posted," NPR journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro wrote on Twitter. "Just now on Nextdoor. Horrible."
"I am hopeful that the man discarded the package once he realized that it was not valuable to him," Lynch said on the Nextdoor post. "Of course, it is invaluable to me and my family. My siblings and I are beside ourselves with grief and despair."
Lynch added that although his mother died in a COVID-19 ward and was initially suspected of carrying coronavirus, a test later proved she died of a different respiratory ailment.
Lynch included a photo of his mother’s urn and an image of the man captured on surveillance camera. The 19-lb. parcel was delivered April 15 to City Market at O Apartments.
"People have come out of the woodwork offering their support," Lynch said. "That’s one of the only bright spots of all this. After my mother lived a very tough life, we just want this to be over."
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