NEWS

Stolen flag returned to family

Bethany Bruner, and Barrett Lawlis
Newark Advocate

NEWARK - A woman's missing keepsake from her father's funeral has reportedly been returned, according to her post to the Newark Ohio Selling Wall.

Angie Biegler-Gaskill returned to her apartment on the west side of Newark on Thanksgiving morning to find much of her and her children's property stolen, including the flag that was on her father's casket for his funeral.

Biegler-Gaskill posted around 5 p.m. Friday that after speaking with police, she took the matter of into her own hands to retrieve the flag. According to the post, she tracked down the suspected thief to reclaim the flag.

"...I went to his neighbors with a baseball bat and ask them if they knew anything so one we went to another lead to another we need until his wife brought me my stuff thank you so much," her post reads.

Thieves broke into Beigler-Gaskill's home sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. She said she found her back door standing open when she got home, as well as much of her and her children's property stolen.

Biegler-Gaskill said she could have gotten over the theft of two televisions, a gaming system, every DVD and video game she and her children owned, jewelry and various other items. But she can't get over the theft of her father's flag.

"That's like taking someone's ashes, you just don't do that," she said.

One of the DVDs that was stolen included a video of Edward Biegler participating in a veteran's march at a local cemetery. She said while that loss hurts, it's nothing compared to the loss of the flag.

Despite Biegler-Gaskill attempting to strengthen the security around her home by double-checking an outer gate was locked and putting a board in a sliding door, she said the thieves unsuccessfully tried to break into her home again Thursday night.

She has lived in her home for eight years and said she has never had any issues like this, until now. Officers who came to take a report and investigate the break-in told her they had taken reports of packages and property stolen from porches in her area, but nothing like what happened to her home.

Police officials were not available on Friday afternoon to confirm the report of this crime.

Biegler-Gaskill said she is hoping whoever stole her property is caught.

Biegler-Gaskill has also posted information about the theft on social media sites in the hopes that someone will know something and encourage the people who stole the flag to return it.

"I don't care about the other stuff," she said. "I would be upset, but the flag, that's not going to pass."