Tennessee Man Searching for Stolen Car with Daughter's Ashes Inside: 'Lost Her All Over Again'

Patrick Sanabria's truck and a locket containing his daughter's ashes were reportedly stolen while he was hiking in the Great Smokey Mountains

A Tennessee man is searching for the ashes of his late daughter after they were stolen along with his car while he was hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Patrick Sanabria and his wife were taking a hike in the national park Tuesday and returned to find that Sanabria's White 1997 Ford Ranger had been stolen from the spot he had parked it in earlier that day, according to local CBS affiliate WVLT.

Sanabria kept a locket containing his 1-year-old daughter's ashes in the car, which he hung from the rearview mirror.

"I got maybe five minutes of walking in and realized what I'd left on the rearview mirror there and just broke down there in the middle of the gravel road. It's like I lost her all over again," Sanabria told WVLT.

His daughter died in May, the day after her first birthday, WVLT reported.

"We gave her a bath one night and laid her down," Sanabria told ABC affiliate WATE. "When we come back in to check on her, she was gone."

After her death, Sanabria put some of his daughter's ashes inside a pendant, which is now missing along with his car.

"Even that little pendant, that little piece, like I said it's like losing her all over again," Sanabria told WVLT. "Like she's already gone and they just took a little bit more. It sucks that those people exist."

He added, "It's crazy. It blows my mind."

Sanabria told WVLT that he is not as concerned about finding his car — which he described as a "'97 Ford ranger, five-speed, hole in the tailgate, not a bad truck but not a truck you would think someone would steal" — as he is about tracking down the necklace.

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"While infrequent, property crime does occur within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. U.S. Park Rangers are trained to investigate and prosecute property crime offenses that occur in the park and actively patrol parking areas as a deterrent," Acting Chief Ranger Jeff Glossop told WVLT.

He continued, "However, we encourage our visitors to take precautions by not leaving valuables unattended while enjoying the park, especially on park trailheads."

Anyone who spots the stolen vehicle or has knowledge of its whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Gatlinburg Police at 865-436-5181.