Labrador mother requests the return of her son's stolen ashes

The ashes of Sheila Coopers' son Jon, pictured above, were stolen. (contributed/ Sheila Cooper)

On June 21, the ashes of Sheila Cooper’s son, Jon, were stolen from the campsite at Goose River Lodges. 

Cooper’s son died from an overdose on May 23, 2022, after attending a concert with his partner.

"Jon and his wife went to an Avril Lavigne concert and Jon decided to buy a gram of cocaine to have a good night, I guess, and it was laced with fentanyl," she said.

"The next day, Jon’s wife found him in the bathroom on the floor, deceased."

Cooper emphasized the need for more discussions about the rise in drug overdoses and fentanyl-laced drugs.

"It only takes one time," she said. "It’s important for people to know that it’s going to be here. It’s going to come harder and stronger like it is out west. People just need to be aware that you could buy a gram of coke for a good time and you end up dead."

Jon was a tattoo artist in Calgary and was in the process of opening up his own shop called Afterlife Tattoos. It was due to open on June 3, 2022.

"His partner still went ahead and opened the tattoo shop," said Cooper. "So in Calgary, there is a tattoo shop called Afterlife Tattoos."

After Jon’s death, Cooper’s daughter bought two skull-shaped containers for his ashes as a representation of his career as a tattoo artist.

‘Jon’s Place’

Cooper is taking over Goose River Lodges, and plans to run the campground in memory of her son.

"My plan is to make it in memory of my son, so it’s going to be called Jon’s Place," she said.

While the campground will mainly be for tourism purposes, with cottage rentals and an RV park, Cooper said she has aspirations for what Jon’s Place could become.

"It’s always in the back of my mind that I could use this, too, for recovery," she said. "When they go out and get treatment and when they come back and they’ve got to interact with the community.

"This could be a place for families, even, to gather. There’s lots of options out there for me to get on the go once it's going."

Taking over Goose River Lodges means having to go back and forth frequently between the campsite and her home in North West River, always carrying the ashes in her purse, she said.

"The ashes came with me every time I went there. Every time I went home, the ashes came with me. Every time they travelled with me."

Cooper said she is moving into the main house at the lodge and part of that process has meant staying in the camper at the site, with her son's ashes remaining at her side.

However, on the night the ashes went missing, she had to run home to check on her youngest son.

Ashes stolen

"When I came back, I realized that some things were missing. I didn’t realize right away that Jon’s ashes were missing. I’d just seen candle wax around," she said.

Food, water, a candle, and the ashes had been taken from the cabin.

"A few days later, we looked through the cottages because they need to be cleaned and there’s still a lot of work to be done and my kids found the candle," she said.

Initially, she thought maybe she had packed the ashes away during the move. But after searching through her home in North West River, and unpacking her belongings at the campsite, it became clear that they had been stolen.

"I knew I left them there, I just wanted to double-check," she said.

Cooper contacted the RCMP and they came to the site to investigate. They found one of the water bottles that she keeps stored at the site in a trash bin, with no knowledge of who drank it. 

The bottle will be tested for DNA and fingerprints, Cooper said.

After filing the report, Cooper decided to make a post on Facebook in the hope that someone might contact her with information.

She made a point of not mentioning the exact location where they had been stolen in the post so as to not deter people from staying at Jon’s Place once they open.

"I didn’t want to make it so that people were afraid to stay here because of what might happen. Once it’s on the go there’s going to be security," she said.

Cooper also runs an outreach program called "Jon’s Afterlife" in memory of her son, handing out safe-using supplies and at times providing food to people throughout central and northern Labrador.

International Overdose Awareness Day is on Aug. 31 and Cooper said she is considering hosting an event at the campsite for the third year in a row since her son’s death.

"Last year we had a community giveaway where people brought things and people more unfortunate or lower-income could come and take what they wanted for free," she said. "We also had a barbecue and prizes and fun for the kids.

"We’re hoping to do basically the same but better this year," she added. "Canadian Helicopters gave us a free helicopter ride, which is good to bring people in."

Cooper emphasized that if people come to her in need of food or help, she is always there.

She said that the person who stole her son’s ashes may not have known what exactly they had taken.

"If they brought it back, I would be one hundred per cent forgiving," she said. "The food and the water is not an issue and the fact that they crashed here is not an issue.

"My issue is that I just want my son’s ashes back."

She added that if they had come to her directly, she would have provided them with food and water. Nevertheless, she remains assured that the person will return the ashes once they realize what they have taken.

"I’m hopeful that Jon is on an adventure right now with somebody, in their backpack cruising around, and that he’s going to be delivered back to me," she said. 

"They don’t have to give it to me, they just have to put it under the sign out there, or they can put it on my doorstep in North West River.

"I just want his ashes. I would be grateful to just to get his ashes back."