BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) — A woman whose mother's ashes were stolen from her car fears an addict stole and ingested them thinking they were drugs.

Carolyn Parker tells The Enterprise (http://bit.ly/2dN9z2t ) of Brockton the ashes were in a plastic bag inside a small white box in her glove compartment. They were taken from her unlocked Jeep in Massachusetts on Monday.

She said the thief took only the ashes, leaving behind her expensive sunglasses, $20 in change and a gold chain hanging from her rearview mirror.

Her mother died in July at age 71. Parker had the ashes in her vehicle so she could spread them at her mother's favorite spots.

She says it's "mortifying" to think that someone may have ingested the ashes.

She's asking the thief to return them no questions asked.

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Information from: The (Brockton, Mass.) Enterprise, http://www.enterprisenews.com