{"id":465739,"date":"2025-12-23T03:19:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T03:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/465739\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T03:19:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T03:19:15","slug":"east-la-womans-necklace-with-daughters-ashes-stolen-nbc-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/465739\/","title":{"rendered":"East LA woman\u2019s necklace with daughter\u2019s ashes stolen \u2013 NBC Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"

An elderly woman in East Los Angeles Monday pleaded with a thief who stole her jewelry that no amount of money in the world could buy: Please return the necklace that contains her late daughter\u2019s ashes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a theft that resembles distraction scam<\/a>, Esther Guerrero, 75, lost her precious necklace last Monday. Guerrero said it happened when she was approached by her would-be thief, who got out of a white car, in front of her house.<\/p>\n

The woman, Guerrero said, asked for directions to a pharmacy. After the elderly woman gave her directions, the woman thanked her, trying to give her cash and a ring. Guerrero refused.<\/p>\n

Then, according to Guerrero, the alleged scammer told her that her mom was sick, asking for Guerrero to pray for her. The woman then put a necklace around her neck and took off, Guerrero said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When her husband noticed Guerrero\u2019s necklace was missing, she realized the thief swapped her necklace with a cheap chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lady had cut it from me in three seconds,\u201d Guerrero recalled in Spanish.<\/p>\n

The 75-year-old said she\u2019s distraught over the stolen necklace as it has the ashes of her daughter, Veronica Garcia Guerro. Her daughter, a retired deputy with the LA County Sheriff\u2019s Department, died seven months ago in a crash in Idaho.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The cross has a screw, and inside they placed my daughter’s ashes, and I always carried it with me on my chest,” Guerrero explained.<\/p>\n

She said her son-in-law gave her and her husband the matching gold cross necklaces with wings \u2013 both containing the ashes of their daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter at the sheriff’s department helped a lot of people. Now I need help,\u201d Guerrero said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mother and grandmother asked whoever has the necklace to mail it to her or drop it off at her door — with no questions asked. <\/p>\n

“Bring it back, please,” Guerrero said. “It’s all I’ve got for my daughter.”<\/p>\n

The LA County Sheriff’s Department confirmed a theft report was taken last week, and detectives with its Major Crimes Bureau is handling the investigation.<\/p>\n

No arrests were made as of Monday, according to investigators. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Authorities have been warning about a series of organized distraction thefts and robberies that primarily target elderly Hispanic men and women.<\/p>\n

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, two suspects — a man and a woman — walk toward the victims or approach them in a rented vehicle during daylight, asking if they needed prayer, requesting directions, or complimenting them on their jewelry.<\/p>\n

“Once engaged, the suspects offer the victim a `better’ piece of jewelry,” according to a police statement. “Using a sleight-of-hand trick, they place fake jewelry around the victim’s neck while simultaneously stealing the real piece.”<\/p>\n

The LAPD has offered several tips to prevent being victimized:<\/p>\n