War Hero's Remains Stolen Before Burial

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Army Col. Norbert Schmidt served his country. Now, someone has done him an extraordinary disservice.

Schmidt was a husband, father and grandfather. He was also a West Point alum who'd been wounded in the Korean War. Most of his buddies died in Korea.

It may be one of the reasons he chose to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

"He lived, they died in Korea. A lot of it had to do with that. To be with the people he sort of felt he should have died with because they all died around him," said Schmidt's daughter, Carol.

So the family came to Washington— all 22 of them-- including children, grandchildren and his widow, Donna. After a meeting at Arlington on Thursday, they decided to take the kids to the National Museum of the American Indian. They parked their rented van nearby.

Afterwards, they noticed the GPS device was missing. It turned out a lock had been broken and the brass urn holding the ashes, the death certificate and Schmidt's Army discharge papers were all missing.

The family searched the National Mall-- even the garbage cans. Their frantic search turned up nothing. The burial was just a day away, but Carol Schmidt's biggest concern was her mom.

"She had a stroke right after my dad died. I was really worried that she was going to have a heart attack," said Carol Schmidt.

Family members say they have done a lot of mourning since Norbert's death in August. Now, they are heartbroken again.

"As my sister put it, it's like we just lost him all over again. It feels like he died yesterday again," said Carol Schmidt.

What was supposed to be a burial service became a memorial service. The Schmidt's still hope the urn will be returned-- back to a family that has lost so much.

An MPD officer came to the scene of the break-in and took a report. FOX 5 contacted MPD Friday to ask about the investigation. No one could provide any information about what police are doing to find Col. Schmidt's remains.