Thieves target elderly Arcadia woman, steal husband's ashes

ARCADIA, Calif. (KABC) -- An elderly Arcadia woman was the target of thieves posing as utility workers to distract her, and her husband's ashes were among the items stolen.

Working with a sketch artist, Betty Snelling helped create a composite of the cold-hearted suspect who helped steal her husband's ashes.

"I'd just say hello to him in the morning, goodbye at night," she said.

Heart broken, Snelling can't believe her husband of 56 years is gone.

Byron Snelling died five years ago, and his wife kept the polished wood box containing his ashes by her bedside, waiting for the day they would be together once again.

"I had promised him that after I died, they would take the two of us to New Mexico," she said.

On Tuesday morning, the suspect posing as a utility worker targeted the elderly grandmother in her Arcadia home.

"Wanted to see the light pole in the back, and so they had to have me accompany them, and so I locked the front door, went out the back, did not lock the back door," Snelling said.

As the suspect distracted Snelling in the backyard an accomplice snuck in the house, stealing jewelry and cash -- and the polished 12-inch square wood box containing her husband.

"I kept thinking, maybe they'll just bring it back, knowing what it is. It's no use to anybody," she said.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his 40s, around 5 feet 9 inches tall with a slim build.

Police are hoping the public will be able to match a name with the face. Snelling is just hoping the thieves will do the right thing.

"It's no good to anybody else," she said. "Doesn't mean anything to anybody except our whole family."

Anybody with information is urged to call Arcadia police at (626) 574-5150.