Relatives of a Red Deer baby killed last November are seeking the return of memorial items, including hand and foot prints, that they say were stolen from a car in Edmonton on the weekend.
Funeral pamphlets, sympathy cards, a pink Bible and hand and foot prints belonging to four-month-old Zaria McCall were taken from a vehicle on Saturday, said the deceased baby’s great-aunt Katie Patton of Edmonton.
The vehicle belongs to Patton’s parents, Brenda and Tom McCall of Red Deer, and were parked on a residential street in Edmonton’s Mayfield area on Saturday when it disappeared.
Patton said the car was found about three blocks away a couple of days later, but the contents are missing.
The baby items were being transported back to Red Deer to Zaria’s mother, Victoria. Patton said her parents had picked up the items from her sister in Dawson Creek, B.C., and had stored them inside a microwave oven, which was in the car’s trunk.
“The biggest thing we want back is the hand and foot prints, which were done post-mortem and were really hard to get,” she added. “There is no copy.”
Patton hopes the thieves didn’t just put the microwave in a dumpster without checking what was inside. “I know it’s a long-shot but we hope they opened the microwave and, maybe, recognized the name and saw the funeral pamphlets, and didn’t put it in the garbage.”
The baby-related items can be dropped off at any police station, no questions asked, Patton said.
Used furniture dealers and pawn shop owners are also being encouraged to open any microwaves that were dropped off to see if the items are inside.
She added Zaria’s death was very difficult on her mother, Victoria. “It was a hard time and it would be nice for her to get these mementos.”
Zaria’s father, Julian Thomson, 21, has been charged with second-degree murder in the case.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com