A grieving mother had her heart broken all over again when Vancouver airport security demanded that she remove her son’s ashes from a plush carrier.
Marney Mutch keeps her son Rhett’s ashes in a large stuffed ladybug, which she can hold when she’s in need of comfort.
Rhett was shot by Victoria police last November. An investigation into the 20-year-old’s death is ongoing.
When Mutch tried to bring the ladybug carrying Rhett’s ashes through Vancouver airport security on Sunday, she was told that she had to remove them for screening.
Cremated remains are allowed in carry-on luggage, so as long as they are in a container that can go through X-ray security. Mutch was also carrying a certificate of cremation.
“He saw the stuffy and said, ‘well, you’re going to have to take the ashes out,’” Mutch told CTV Vancouver on Thursday. “And I just said ‘no way.’”
Security dug in and told her that those are the rules.
“What was going through my head was ‘are you out of your mind?’” Mutch said. “There’s just no dignity in this.”
After an argument with security, including a supervisor, Mutch pulled the plastic bag containing her son’s ashes out of the ladybug.
“At that point I just plunked it on the counter and said ‘there you are, my son’s remains,’” she said.
By the time she passed through security, Mutch had missed her flight.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) says it has apologized to Mutch and launched an investigation into what happened.
Mutch, meanwhile, wonders why her stuffed ladybug would pose a travel risk.
“It actually feels like I’ve got my arm around him,” Mutch said. “It’s all I’ve got.”
