The body of a young woman vanished from a Texas funeral home hours after her memorial service, investigators said Friday.
A funeral for Julie Mott, who died of cystic fibrosis, was held on Aug. 15 — which would have been her 26th birthday, according to an obituary. The service at Mission Park Funeral Home in San Antonio ended at 1:30 p.m., and the home was locked up at 4:30 p.m., Mission Park’s owner, Dick Tips, told NBC affiliate WOAI.
When the home was reopened the next morning, Mott’s body was gone.
Investigators believe someone entered the funeral home not long after it closed and stole the corpse, according to a San Antonio Police statement released Friday.
Mission Park Funeral Home is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the discovery of the body, and police are asking for anyone with information to contact them, the statement said.
Tips said the home has been in business for more than 100 years and has never had to deal with something as appalling as stolen remains. “This is a family business of five generations, and I just am not believing that this is happening,” he said.
Mott’s father, Tim Mott, told WOAI that he trusts police will track down his daughter’s body, and he hopes whoever is responsible for the disappearance will be charged. "We just want our daughter's remains returned so that we can have some closure to our grief,” he said.
