DETROIT – Livonia police say the stolen urn of fallen solder Brian Backus has been found near a friend's house.
The urn was found near his best friend Cpl. Mike Oliver's home. Oliver's younger brother found the urn Sunday near his neighbor's porch on a landscaping rock. Livonia police said the urn will be returned to Mike Oliver who is stationed at Fort Brag, Kentucky.
The urn is worn and dirty but intact, police said.
It was taken from a 2012 white Ford Mustang between the hours of 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Sunday, July 8.
The car was in the driveway located at 14977 Arcola Street at Howell Road.
A $1,000 reward was being offered by Crime Stoppers of Michigan for information that lead to an arrest.
"Thank you to Crime Stoppers and the media for helping us get the word out there," said Officer McCulley, of the Livonia Police Department. "I was thinking we would not have a good outcome in this case, I am very happy that the ashes of Brian Backus can be back with his best friend. It is good to know that there are still people that care."
Police ask anyone with information to call 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
Combat medic dies serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
Backus was killed in Afghanistan on June 18, 2011. He had served as a private in the United States Army.
Backus grew up Michigan's Thumb community of Harbor Beach. He was president of his 2008 graduating class at Harbor Beach High School and was looking into health care as a profession.
Backus was part of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum in New York. The military listed his address in Saginaw County's Saginaw Township.