Tip gives Toronto sisters hope of finding mother’s ashes stolen from Pointe-Claire parking lot

A car with an almost identical description to two sisters’ stolen vehicle with their mother’s ashes was reportedly seen 12 minutes away from the parking lot it was taken from in Pointe-Claire, Qc.

Sisters Carole and Cathy were in Montreal for their mother’s long-awaited burial delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and a cemetery worker strike.

The daughters parked their 2020 silver Toyota RAV4 outside their hotel, leaving the urn in the trunk overnight but it was stolen.

When a silver Toyota RAV4 showed up on Torrence avenue in Dorval Thursday morning, a few days later after the theft, it caught Brigette Begin’s eye.

“The window in the back seat seat on the driver’s side was down. Was it down or was it broken? I don’t know,” Begin said.

Begin noticed its Ontario license plates, but she says she didn’t pay close attention to the car, until she saw Carole Daoust’s Facebook post.

The post detailed the theft of her own Toyota RAV4.

“We read the post and then we say, ‘Hey, could it be that car?'” Begin asked herself.

Security camera footage shows a silver RAV4 parked on the street. It was next to Leonardo Otagan’s driveway.

Otagan says his father saw two men take the car Thursday afternoon.

“I think one of the partners dropped him off. I think he drove the RAV4 and they both just went away,” Otagan explained.

So, Begin sent Daoust and her husband a tip.

“The fact that it’s really a needle in a haystack, what we’re looking for and the fact that we got a tip and you know, I still feel pretty good that there was a high chance that was our car,” said Richard Daoust.

READ MORE: Montreal police investigating rash of West Island robberies

Residents in the neighbourhood say Montreal Police (SPVM) went door-to-door Saturday asking about the car.

The SPVM refused to comment citing that there is an ongoing investigation.

“We’re very pleased with the fact that they’re following up on the tips and they’re encouraging,” Richard Daoust added.

The sisters say they have been flooded with messages. Carole Daoust says the kindness of strangers is more than she ever imagined.

“It’s been overwhelming with the support of people in the community. People I don’t even know,” Carole Daoust said.

The couple say it’s not about the car. They’re pleading once again with thieves to return their mother’s ashes.

“In my heart of hearts, I don’t think we’re going to get her remains back, but I am not going to give up,” Carole Daoust said.

They believe the car could still be parked on a residential street and are asking anyone who sees it to call police.

1:56 Toronto sisters say mother’s ashes stolen from Pointe-Claire parking lot