Family pleads for return of firefighter's stolen ashes
'I am going to hope and pray that he is returned,' says his wife, Kristina Babka.
Glen Markle Jr. was a firefighter for 40 years. He died of cancer in 2021. Kristina Babka and her daughter say it feels like losing a husband and stepfather all over again.
'For someone to take him from his own house… nobody has the right to do that,' says Kimberly Waltson, Markle's stepdaughter.
Markle says she noticed his ashes were gone while family members went to check on her mom's home. She says several items were stolen when her mom was not home, including her stepdad's ashes and his dad's belt buckle. Walston says the burglary opens up old wounds.
'How many times did he go out on Christmas, Easter, and Christmas Eve and fight somebody's fire. He did that, and for somebody to take him away… nobody has the right to do that. He belonged to us,' says Waltson.
Markle retired from the fire department in 2020 and died from cancer in 2021. Walston says his last wish was to be buried by his wife. Now, the family says they feel like they were robbed of that wish.
'I had to look at her and say What do you want me to do with you, because your choice was being buried together. And if we don't get him back, what am I supposed to do with you? And she said you are just going to have to bury me, and that broke my heart. Because that is not what he wanted. He wanted to be buried together. He wanted to be together,' says Walston.
Mt. Carmel City Hall, Hope Fellowship Church, and Short Cunningham Funeral Home are all locations. Walston says have agreed to receive the ashes anonymously without consequences.
'My goal is to just get him returned, no questions asked, and the belt buckle that was his dad's,' says Walston.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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