N.J. family distraught as man's ashes missing

James Wagner's family had prepared a glorious ceremony for his remains.

His grandchildren, son, daughter, and other loved ones would gather in Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor, Mich., and place his ashes in a monument wall in September 2015. The remains of his widow, who is in deteriorating health, eventually would be placed next to his.

The family would then attend a football game at the University of Michigan, where they said Wagner played as a guard in the 1950s.

There's just one problem: The urn containing James Wagner's ashes is missing.

Police suspect it was taken from his son's house in Medford Lakes during an open house showing in the fall. The family reported it missing early this month.

The urn was in a walk-in closet in a red velvet bag next to a white-gold bracelet with sapphires and a matching heart pendant, both of which also were taken. Police and the family suspect whoever grabbed the bag with the urn probably mistook it for containing jewelry.

"I have been distraught over what happened," said Wagner's daughter, Karen Libbey, 58, of Edina, Minn. "Not only because of what we had planned, but just the thought of what happened to my father, to his remains."

She worries that someone threw them out the window. Or that they're sitting in a landfill in New Jersey. But she and other family members also hope someone still has them.

The family is offering a $2,000 reward for the return of the urn. For them, it's more about having the ashes back than punishing someone.

"No questions asked," said Debra Scully-Wagner, wife of Wagner's son. They live near Princeton. "I just want them back."

She and her husband held four open houses at their five-bedroom, 31/2-bathroom home in Medford Lakes between July and September, which drew dozens of visitors, she said. The house sold in October. The urn was on the top shelf of a closet on the second floor.

Medford Lakes Police Sgt. Robert Dugan called the incident "a shame."

"I can feel for them, because my father was cremated," he said. "So I can understand where they're coming from with wanting the remains returned."

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 609-654-2156.