At first they thought it was a work of art, but soon the remarkable black box with a heart inside turned out to be an urn. Employee Gerda Marsé of the Dromehof recycling center in Hoorn is calling for the next of kin to be traced. “We think it was accidentally disposed of.”
Last week the urn was brought into the thrift store. Hidden among other things. “People can ring the doorbell at the warehouse and bring stuff. It was in a cardboard box with other stuff. We accepted that and didn’t immediately look at what was in it. Only later did we clear it out.”
At first they had no idea of the origin or what it was for. “We turned it over and saw a kind of lock that you can open. When we looked at the contents, we knew enough.”
Gerda: “We therefore think that it was accidentally disposed of.” The black box, containing a golden heart, looked like a work of art to them.
It happens more often that very special objects are brought into the cycle. But Gerda has never experienced this before in the five years that she has been working there. “We just hope the owner comes forward.”