Police Recover Van, Stolen While Transporting Body

Police Recover Van, Stolen While Transporting Body
A van recently stolen with a body inside was found about 10 minutes from where it was taken, in an auto parts shop parking lot. (Google Maps)
2/14/2018
Updated:
2/14/2018

A van with a dead body inside that was stolen on Monday has been recovered, thanks to the help of an observant citizen who spotted it in an auto parts shop parking lot.

In a video interview with First Coast News the owner of Affordable Cremation Services recounted the story of the theft of the van from the business’s parking lot:

“He [the driver of the van] came here to the front of the building, parked exactly maybe 5-10 steps from the door…He came inside to bring the paperwork so that the director could get started with the processes of getting the approval to have the cremation done…And she [the director] noticed the car moving, so she says to him, ‘Your car is leaving.’ They turn around, run outside, to see the car going off down the street.”

The van was found abandoned in an auto parts parking lot, with the body thankfully still inside.

The car was found abandoned in an auto parts shop parking lot. (Google Maps)
The car was found abandoned in an auto parts shop parking lot. (Google Maps)

It is about a 10 minute drive between Affordable Cremation Services and the site that the vehicle was abandoned. One can only wonder about the process of discovery for the car thief, and whether the route was affected at all by that discovery.

Affordable Cremation Services and Advance Discount Auto Parts are about 10 minutes apart. (Google Maps)
Affordable Cremation Services and Advance Discount Auto Parts are about 10 minutes apart. (Google Maps)

So far, police have not announced any suspects.

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