Parents beg for help after suitcase with son’s ashes was stolen from airport baggage claim

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) – Parents from South Carolina are begging for the return of their son’s ashes after they say the irreplaceable item was stolen Saturday from baggage claim at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

David White lives in Chester County, South Carolina, about 50 miles south of the airport. He had just returned home from Michigan after his 29-year-old son Cody White’s sudden death.

David White had packed his son’s cremation box in his checked luggage. He says he required wheelchair assistance after landing, which he believes gave someone plenty of time to steal his suitcase.

“By the time they got enough people to come and get us downstairs, my luggage was gone,” David White said.

David White said the thieves were able to quickly grab the luggage off the carousel and make their way out of the exit. After the incident, airport security recalled seeing who took the bag.

“They saw a guy and lady leave there with luggage… The cab driver dropped them off at the airport, they came in, grabbed two luggage and went out. The reason we found out is because they didn’t pay the cab driver,” David White said.

Cody White’s mother Ann Diehl is also pleading for the thieves to return her son’s ashes.

“I just don’t want my son to end up in a landfill or something, you know. So, we just want to bring our boy home,” Diehl said.

The cremation box is a black box with a white sticker with Cody White’s name on it. It has ‘USA’ on the handle. There is also a red, blue and silver symbol.

“If that was their child, they would want someone to bring it back to them,” David White said.

The parents are holding onto the hope of getting their son back home.

“If everybody could check dumpsters, just their field, their backyards, their trash cans, anything like that because [the thieves are] just going to take what they want and they’re gonna leave the rest… just pay attention,” Diehl said. “Just take it to a fire station, police station, drop it on somebody’s porch.”

David White did file a police report with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. If you have any information, call the police department at 704-336-7600.

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