A Dallas couple is asking for the public's help after a memory box in honor of their daughter was stolen from their home.
Mona Bagrodia says she, her husband Aditya, and their children returned to their home along St. Lazare Drive from an event Wednesday evening to find someone had broken in while they were gone.
"We had come in two separate cars. My husband came first and then he ran out of the house and he was like, don't come in. I think someone broke in," Bagrodia recalled. "Our backdoor was, like, crowbar kicked in."
Personal items including a passport and a shaving mirror passed down from a late family member were stolen, but the couple says the item taken from them that is among the most difficult to process was the one closest to their hearts.
This was a memory box for their daughter, who died due to stillbirth in May 2018.
"Her pictures. Her ultrasounds, her footprints, lock of hair, like everything we have of her was in that box," Mona Bagrodia said. "It was on top on some silver boxes. I just think maybe they thought it was some jewelry boxes or something and they took the whole thing."
The white memory box is a little smaller than a shoebox. It had white lace on the outside, closed and tied with ribbon.
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A report was filed with the Dallas Police Department.
A spokesperson told NBC 5, the report states the couple's neighbor stated there was a loud sound coming from the home around 5:30 p.m. on the day of the burglary.
"This emotionally was a huge deal. Getting robbed is bad enough but the stuff that got taken was very, very emotional. Sentimental," Aditya Bagrodia said. "Kind of sorting that out brings up a lot of heavy stuff from about a year ago."
The couple says they have gone around their neighborhood and the surrounding area trying to find the box but have not come up with anything.
"It's all irreplaceable stuff. If I could have her box back, they could keep everything else," Mona Bagrodia said.
Anyone with information can contact the Northwest Investigative Unit with the Dallas Police Department at 214-670-6179.
