Searching For Answers

Man says wife’s ashes were among items taken from his Fonda home

By KERRY McAVOY, The Leader-Herald
FONDA — Larry Schoolcraft says he has almost no mementos left to help him remember his late wife and the couple’s infant son.

He says family photos and negatives were stolen from his home at 3600 Route 5 last fall after he had a medical emergency and went to live with his son in New York City.

But the photos weren’t the worst of what was taken.

Also packed in the pink storage crate with the family photos and negatives, Schoolcraft says, were the ashes of Suzanne J. Schoolcraft, who died in 2004 at age 46 after having a stroke, and the couple’s infant son, who Larry Schoolcraft said died shortly after being born in 1988.

“You would think in a small town like this people wouldn’t do this sort of thing,” Schoolcraft said. “I just still can’t believe someone would do something like this.”

The alleged theft occurred about six months after Schoolcraft claims Montgomery County deputies dropped him off on his porch in cold weather March 21, 2007, after they picked him up on suspicion he was intoxicated at a convenience store.

Schoolcraft claims he was groggy because of medication he had taken. He claims authorities brought him to his porch and left him there, and he suffered permanent injuries because he remained on the porch for two days. National Grid employees spotted Schoolcraft on his porch and called 911. He then was taken to a hospital.

Schoolcraft filed a lawsuit against the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office April 15 of this year regarding the incident.

Following the medical emergency, Schoolcraft went to live with his son for several months starting in September. When he returned to his home in January, he discovered his home had been broken into and items were missing, he says.

Along with the ashes and mementos, including his wedding ring, Schoolcraft said several thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise stored in plastic containers was taken.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Schoolcraft said. “They took small items but left things like convection ovens and a mini fridge.”

He said thieves took a lawn mower, DeWalt power tools and a DVD player.

Schoolcraft’s son, Adrian, a New York City police officer, estimated it must have taken thieves several days to go through the items in the home. Several leads came forward, but Adrian Schoolcraft said few panned out.

Investigator Brett Northrup of the New York State Police at Fonda said the case, although unsolved, no longer is being investigated.

The Schoolcrafts are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of any stolen items.

Northrup said the reward money would be a matter between Schoolcraft and the person giving the information.

“We do not offer rewards for information or arrests,” Northrup said. “But if someone should call us with information about the case, I will investigate it.”

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call the New York State Police at Fonda at 853-3741 and ask for investigator Wayne Matice.

People who want to contact Larry Schoolcraft about the reward money are asked to call (646) 957-2486. Callers wouldn’t have to give their names to report information, Schoolcraft said. The Schoolcrafts said they won’t press charges if the items are returned.

“They can even leave the stuff on the doorstep of the place if they wanted to, and we wouldn’t pursue it,” Adrian Schoolcraft said.

Adrian Schoolcraft says he found a few items on Internet auction sites he believes came from his father’s home. The younger Schoolcraft said he compiled a list of more than 150 items taken.

Many of those are collectors items, including more than 20 years worth of Hallmark Christmas ornaments that were valuable to the family, he said.

The loss of the ashes of Suzanne J. Schoolcraft and the couple’s infant son is the most painful from the theft, the Schoolcrafts said.

“This affects me every day,” Adrian Schoolcraft said. “It’s the last thing I think about before I go to sleep at night.”



Kerry McAvoy covers Montgomery County. She can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com