SAN ANTONIO — A car stolen from an apartment complex in north San Antonio held precious cargo.
The owner says inside the center console was an urn with his grandfather's ashes.
Wednesday afternoon, Brendan O'Brien walked out of his apartment with his two dogs and realized his car was missing.
"I was honestly in shock," he explained. "Just like, is this really happening?"
He lives at the Sunset Canyon Apartments off Thousand Oaks near Henderson Pass.
O'Brien still had the keys to his car, so he walked a lap around to make sure it was really gone. He never found it.
"Really my main concern is the possessions that were in the car," he said.
Inside his 1998 white Honda Civic, Brendan carried this urn with his grandfather Jerry's ashes. It's about five inches tall, small enough to fit in the center console.
"I didn't actually have a father growing up, so my grandfather was a very big role model to me," said O'Brien. "I had his urn in my car that I'd had several years for protection."
Since 2019, whenever Brendan got behind the wheel, Grandpa Jerry was with him.
"I was traveling from Texas to California...I got stranded in Junction, TX which is about 45 minutes down I-10 West," said O'Brien. "I ended up having to take shelter in a church."
He felt safe with his grandfather by his side.
"Honestly, I didn't want to take him out because if I did I thought something would happen."
If the '98 Honda Civic doesn't stand out enough already, it also has a smashed in rear passenger door and a license plate cover that says Jim Doten Berkeley. The car also had Texas license plate SLR 6261.
O'Brien is hoping with your help, his car will return with his 'Papa' waiting for him.
"He was definitely the backbone of our family -- and still is. I feel he still is."
Brendan filed a police report. San Antonio Police told KENS 5 they also checked the tow lots for the car, but no sign of it.
If you spot the 1998 Honda Civic, call police.