Farmington woman seeks return of urn stolen in Albuquerque

FARMINGTON, N.M. – A Farmington woman is mourning the loss of her sister after losing her to cancer, but someone in Albuquerque only added to her pain when they stole something dear to her.

“She’s just amazing, she’s my best friend, she was the only person I had left really,” said Keira Lyda.

It’s been a little over a week since Keira Lyda last spoke to her sister Crista Crowder.

“She was a person who picked me up when I was down, so I’m trying to figure out how to do things without her now,” said Lyda.  

After a six-year battle with cancer, Lyda is learning how to live without her role model, and best friend.

“Her calling me, her texting me, her making sure I’m OK you know. My sister is the main reason I ended up having kids myself because watching her be such a great mother, I wanted to be the same,” Lyda said. 

Her sister’s funeral was on May 6, but it wouldn’t be long before another family tragedy. 

“It was very emotional, very hard on not only me, but the rest of my family,” Lyda said.  

Lyda and her husband rushed to be with family after another relative passed away, only to experience the loss of her sister all over again.

“I had to say bye to my sister multiple times, more than once,” said Lyda. 

Just as they were about to head to their second funeral for the week, they noticed their truck had been broken into.

“After looking around we checked the backseat, front seat, everything was there besides my sunglasses, they were a pair of Burberrys, and my sister’s urn,” Lyda said. 

She says emotions were running high, and she thought her husband brought the urn into the hotel room with them.

“The funeral was the reality that she was gone, and you know, I feel like having her ashes was going to be a part of me knowing she is still here, even though that’s not her,” said Lyda. 

A real steel urn, she worries she may never get her sister back.

“It could have ended up in pawn shops, she has probably been passed through multiple different hands, and she doesn’t even know,” Lyda said.  

Despite all the loss, she still hopes her sister will return to her.

“I don’t know if or where it’s going to show up, but if it does please return it, it’s all I want,” said Lyda.