Woman appeals for return of stolen urn containing husband’s ashes

Sharon Mapp is appealing for the safe return of her husband Tony's ashes; the couple were together for 36 years before he passed.

When Rotorua woman Sharon Mapp received a phone call last Friday from a neighbour saying her front door was wide open, she left work and arrived home to find police already there.

At first, she thought it was just her TV that was missing.

It wasn’t until she sat down on the couch with her neighbour that she realised her late husband Tony’s ashes were also gone.

“I was just devastated,” she said. “It’s just beyond me.”

The pair were together for 36 years; Tony died two and a half years ago.

A “rugby-mad, typical Kiwi bloke”, his ashes were kept in a canister bearing the All Blacks’ silver fern logo.

Sharon Mapp is devastated by the loss of the urn containing her husband Tony Preier's ashes.

For quite some time after his death, Sharon would only watch the rugby with Tony’s ashes - a bottle of Steinlager propped up next to him, and a glass of wine for her.

“[Watching rugby] was special to us.”

Sharon says they assume those who took the urn thought it was some special rugby memorabilia or that it contained a bottle of whisky.

The couple never had children but enjoyed time with their nieces and nephews, close family and “lots of friends”.

As it was just the two of them, Sharon says they were “a real unit”.

They lived for in California for 17 years, where Sharon worked as a neonatal nurse and Tony made sausages he sold at fairs.

During their time in the US, the couple “ran away to Las Vegas and got married”.

Tony’s parents built the house Sharon lives in, which the couple bought when his folks retired.

“We were just a regular couple, and he was a real neighbourhood guy.”

Sharon says she doesn’t want retribution or to know who may have the urn - she just wants it back.

“I don’t want to take it any further. I just want him home.”

She asks that whoever might have it return it to her porch, hand it in to the police, or leave it at the Springfield Gold Club where she works.

Sharon’s niece Joanne Mapp contacted the Rotorua Daily Post seeking help for her aunty and the safe return of her uncle’s ashes. She also posted on multiple Rotorua Facebook pages appealing for help.

“It was really heart-wrenching for her to find his ashes [were] gone.”

A woman who identified herself as a neighbour of Sharon’s also posted on Facebook, appealing for others to share the post on their networks: “If by some miracle we can get this returned, [Sharon] would be eternally grateful’”.

On Monday morning, her post had been shared nearly 70 times, with users expressing their support through comments such as, “That’s so awful”, “Hope it gets returned”, and “Absolutely heartbreaking ... praying his ashes are returned”.

A police spokesperson said in a statement they appreciated the theft had been distressing for the victim but they had been unable to locate the stolen items. With no further lines of inquiry, the case will be moved into the completion stage but reassessed if further information comes to light.

They encouraged anyone who had information that could lead to the return of the stolen items to contact police on 105 or online at 105.police.govt.nz, by clicking “Update report” and referencing file number 240518/4528.