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Thieves steal woman's father's ashes
A Copperas Cove woman is heartbroken after thieves broke into her car at Mt. Bonnell and stole her bag, which had pendants inside containing her father's ashes.
AUSTIN, Texas - One Copperas Cove woman is heartbroken after thieves took something irreplaceable when they broke into her car at Mt. Bonnell.
For her, the theft wasn’t just a matter of lost belongings—it was the loss of a connection to her father.
When 29-year-old Cheyenne Magill took a trip to Mt. Bonnell on Wednesday, she never expected her day to take the turn it did. She went to see the view with her boyfriend and best friend, but when she got back to her car, there was an awful surprise waiting for her.
"We got here at like. 5:20 ish came back down at six and somebody had busted out my back window, got in and stole my bag, which had my wallet, all my ID cards," said Magill.
But that's not all she lost.
"I had a pendant in there, two of them, with my dad's ashes in it. So, they stole my dad, basically. So, it's like losing him all over again. I haven't had him for ten years. I lost ten, ten years ago to cancer," said Magill.
Magill says after her father Guy Magill passed away, she wanted a way to carry him with her, so she had the pendants made.
She says her door was locked, but the thieves used a tool to smash her back window. The whole thing was caught on video by a Tesla parked next to her car.
"I had a bunch of notes that were handwritten by my grandma on him that I kept as well, too. So, I don't even care about the money, the medication, my keys, my bags. I just want my dad's ashes back so bad," said Magill.
The thieves were caught on camera by a Tesla parked next to Cheyenne Magill's car.
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After some digging on social media, Magill believes other break-ins in the same area are connected to the same people who broke into her car. You can even see other traces of glass in the parking area.
The crime has left her heartbroken, serving as a painful reminder that some losses are irreplaceable.
"Everything else is replaceable. But that's not. It's not those notes that I had for years and years, and I can't get those back. Like, I can't get the locket back. And it's like losing it all over again and it just sucks," said Magill.
Now she’s sharing her story in hopes of recovering what was stolen and urging anyone with information to come forward.
"Maybe put more patrols out here, have them come through more often? Cameras. I mean, I know cameras are expensive, and I know that the police force is understaffed, but have more patrols here," said Magill.
In addition to cameras, she hopes APD will put up signs in the area to warn others about thefts.
FOX 7 Austin reached out to APD for an update but haven't heard back.
The Source: Information in this report came from reporting and interviews by FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King.