Ashes found in Toledo trash pile returned to family members

This story is a good example of the positive power of social media.

Several Toledo children were walking home from school Wednesday when they stopped to pick up something from a trash pile. It turns out, it was an urn containing the ashes of a baby girl from the Clyde area.

With the help of a lot of other people it didn't take long for Nikie Craig to track down some of the baby's family members. Nikie says she often tells her children not to pick up things they find, but she's extremely glad they did in this case.

The story starts when Nikie's three children were on their way home from school and spotted something on the ground. They picked it up and carried it home. At first they all thought it was a vase. Once Nikie noticed a piece of paper and read it, she quickly realized it was an urn with the ashes of a newborn girl, "It was heartbreaking and sad. I knew I had to do the right thing."

Nikie decided to use social media to help track down the family.

She posted a message on Facebook, and she started getting responses within minutes, "I knew there were lots of good people out there who would share the post. Were you amazed at the response on social media? I was and I still am. I am still getting messages."

Nikie put the ashes on top of the family Bible while she began her search. She believes there was a bit of divine intervention in this story, "The Bible means a lot to us. We read it, and use it to teach the children right from wrong. I wanted the baby's family to know that her ashes were definitely in a safe spot."

Within hours, the Facebook post connected Nikie to the baby girl's grandmother. Nikie says it was an emotional call for both of them, "I was holding back tears when I was talking with her. I can't imagine what they'd been going through. If this was my child, I don't know what I'd do. "

Thursday morning, less than 24-hours after the children found the urn, Nikie met the grandmother,"She gave me a big hug. She was so happy, you could tell the way she was holding the urn. I think it was a bit of closure. The family now had a piece of her, so they could live again."

The baby's grandmother didn't want to go on camera, but she says she can't thank Nikie and her children enough for making the effort to find her. And just like Nikie she believes God had a hand in this story.

At this point, it is not clear how the ashes ended up in the trash pile along Spring Street in Toledo.