Woman gets back husband's ashes after theft in San Francisco

A North Carolina woman says she has gotten back her husband's ashes after they were stolen from a garage in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf area.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports thieves broke into Mary Wilkinson's rental vehicle Wednesday. They stole cash, credit cards, clothing and a velvet pouch carrying the ashes.

The theft happened the day before Wilkinson and her daughter planned to scatter the remains among the redwoods of the North Coast.

Authorities launched their investigation Thursday.

Wilkinson says she received a call from San Francisco police Saturday saying that a man had dropped off the ashes. He wasn't arrested and the other missing items weren't recovered.

Wilkinson says she and her daughter no longer plan to scatter her husband's remains and will instead take them back home to Charlotte on Tuesday.