NORMAN, Okla. — The trip from Springfield, Missouri to Texas was already going to be a somber one for Shawn and Jennifer Kemp. The family was making the journey to attend a funeral, but they lost something irreplaceable along the way.
The couple’s son, Thade, died shortly after birth and his ashes were placed in a blue, heart-shaped urn. It’s only about three inches across, but means the world to the family.
“It’s not just an urn,” Jennifer told the Norman Transcript.“He’s in there. That’s all I have on this Earth of him. We travel with him, we take him with us when we leave the house because you take your kids with you when you leave. So, it’s been pretty rough.”
The couple said they left Springfield on Thursday morning before stopping in Tulsa for gas. They ate lunch in Oklahoma and then continued south, according to the paper.
They said they are not sure when Thade’s ashes went missing, but they realized they weren’t in their bag when they got home last Saturday.
Kemp posted an image of Thade’s urn to Facebook asking for help. After more than 25,000 shares, Thade’s ashes were finally found over Labor Day weekend.
Kemp said two girls playing hide-and-seek in a hotel room in Grandbury, Texas found the urn tucked away in the corner of a hotel room.
