Wis. man loses father’s, grandfather’s ashes when car where they’re stored is towed, destroyed

Wis. man loses relatives’ ashes when car is towed

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man has lost his father’s and grandfather’s ashes when the car where they were stored was towed and destroyed.

Wausau police say everything in Shawn Leslie’s 1994 Mercury Cougar was tossed before the towing company crushed it. Leslie says he thought the car was safe when he parked it in a lot behind a Wausau diner. He says the lot’s owner gave him permission to park while he was out of town driving a truck for a living.

But the lot’s manager, Ray Burris, says the owner never gave Leslie permission, and he called the police after the vehicle sat for more than six months. Then he had it towed.

A person who answered the phone at the towing company declined to comment Friday. Tom Howells of the Wisconsin Towing Association says owners should be notified before cars are destroyed.