MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — A family in Muskegon County is searching for a homemade cross that is now missing from their crash site memorial.
The memorial, located on the end of E&A's parking lot near a driveway off East Apple Avenue in Eagleston Township, is for Searra Lucas, a young mother who was killed in a tragic crash in April.
Family and friends held a vigil the weekend after the crash, placing a wooden cross signed by loved ones into the ground where her car was found.
Jamie Maynard, Searra's mother, says she discovered the cross was no longer there when she was driving by the area over the weekend.
"It's not the piece of wood that matters. It's the signatures, the names, the people who cared and continue to care, that can't be replaced," said Donald Lucas, Searra's husband. "That event can't be replaced. That cross can't be replaced."
The family says the memorial lies on private property with permission from the owner. Maynard explained they have contacted the township, Consumers Energy, along with neighbors and workers in the area, but have yet to find out who has taken the cross.
"All the different stories I'm getting, I really just don't even know which way to turn. You know, it's kind of like he said, she said, they said, You know, I just want the truth," said Maynard.
Explaining while they do have Searra buried in a cemetery, Maynard and Lucas say the memorial holds a special place in the hearts of Searra's family and friends, with her husband adding he would stop by with their children regularly.
They say it is also accessible for others in the community who knew Searra.
"It gives everybody a place to go to to be able to say, 'hey, we miss you, we love you,'" said Maynard.
The family says they want to see the cross returned to them, or at least find out where the cross went and why it was taken.
"Imagine if it was your family, what would you want done?" said Lucas. "At least say sorry if you can't get it back to us. I'd like to see it come back so we can do something and continue to use it as a memorial for Searra, but if they can't come back, at least step forward."
The family is filing a police report.