Box containing infant's cremated remains stolen in burglary

ELMHURST, Ill. (AP) - A suburban Chicago couple whose house was ransacked this week is begging whomever made off with some belongings inside to return just one thing: The small white box containing the ashes of their infant son.

'œIt happened five years ago, but this brings it all up,'ť Sue LaDeur said of the 2014 death of her 10-day-old son, William 'œBilly'ť Pax LaDeur. 'œNow he has been stolen from us.'ť

The break-in happened sometime before LaDeur returned to her family's Elmhurst home on Tuesday afternoon. Elmhurst police said in a news release that someone got into the home by breaking through a side window. The burglars or burglar, made off with some collector coins and grabbed the white square container from atop a dresser that could have been mistaken for a jewelry box.

The couple hopes that by sharing what happened, they will convince whomever broke into their home to look at the box closely, see the name of the crematorium that is on a label, and mail it there. Or, they say, the box could be dropped off at any funeral home or at any police or fire station.

The couple that planned to one day bury the remains of the boy want whomever took the box to know it is something that is of little value to anyone else but invaluable to the LaDeurs.

'œHe lives in our hearts,'ť Jim LaDeur, told the Chicago Tribune. 'œBut this box is something that connects him with us... We just want to get this back.'ť