Ashes of Navy veteran stolen in Omaha, family asks for community’s help

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - During her cross-country move from Omaha to Virginia, the ashes of Nicki Woxland’s husband, Wade, were stolen from her car in Aksarben.

Now, from states away, she’s hoping the Omaha community will help return them to her.

“I love talking about him, he’s one of my favorite people,” Nicki said referring to her Wade.

In 2013, Nicki lost Wade after an 18-month fight with cancer. Five different kinds of cancer.

“All of the cancers he had, we believe, and the military believes, are connected to his service,” Nicki said.

Wade joined the Navy in 1983 and was first stationed in Virginia Beach. Nicki, who was also in the service, met Wade in Norfolk, Virginia.

During his career in the Navy, Wade was at one point stationed in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

“We think the biggest risk is going to be being at war and going into enemy territory,” Nicki said. “Unfortunately for us, it was being exposed to all the different chemicals they work around, the planes give off.”

The reserve base closed in 2011 and is now a Superfund site after it was determined that the firefighting foam that was used in routine training for aircraft fires was toxic.

Nicki says that even after his diagnosis, Wade never regretted a day of his service to the country.

Post-mortem, he was granted 100% disability.

Fast forward to now, ten years after Wade’s death. Nicki was living in Fremont when she made the decision to move closer to two of her sons, twins, both of whom are also in the military.

One of her sons is currently in the same place where Wade began his military career.

“We packed our cars to the point of no return, and I had to get a cargo bag,” Nicki said. “I packed the cargo bag with clothes and I put my husband’s ashes up there thinking it would be safe because my car was so packed and I had two dogs, I was really afraid that shifting would maybe puncture the containers because they’re plastic, so I thought that would be a safe place.”

Thursday night, before making the long drive to Virginia, Nicki stayed at the Aloft Hotel in Aksarben. She parked her car in a well-lit area, surrounded by surveillance cameras.

“Friday morning I walked down to my car to find no cargo container on the top of my car,” she says. “I literally screamed.”

Security video, which neither the hotel nor Omaha Police will release, shows a car that was backed into the empty parking spot next to Nicki’s car.

In the span of about a minute, thieves can be seen cutting the straps holding down the cargo bag, sliding it off of Nicki’s car and onto theirs, and driving away.

“I literally got physically sick at that point,” Nicki said. “I turned around and walked over to the side of the building and was just, I had to catch my breath because that’s it. That’s all we have left of him. That’s all my sons have left of him.”

Along with Wade’s ashes, the thieves also took away her twin sons’ chance to honor their dad’s legacy and military service.

“One of the reasons I had the ashes was, with the boys being in the military and moving, they asked for me to keep them at the house until they got to a permanent duty station because they wanted to get together and bury him at sea,” Nicki said. “To even think about where those ashes are, I can’t. I just can’t think about it because it’s gut-wrenching and it makes me sick to think about where they could be.”

The Woxland family remains hopeful that the ashes will be found, but they’re asking for the community’s help.

Nicki shared her message to those who may be responsible, too.

“I hope they see this and I hope they take it to heart and understand how important it is to my family to have him back.”

Nicki says the ashes are in a box with his name on the top, and in a green velvet bag with a gold rope.

Anyone who locates the box is urged to contact the Omaha Police Department.