The curious case of the cremation urn left at Newbury racecourse

It is a puzzling story with a still unsolved mystery at its heart: just who is the individual whose cremated remains were left on the counter of a burger van at Newbury racecourse? And why – despite the cremation urn being labelled with a name and a message that hints at a loving family – has no one come forward to claim it? Despite extensive inquiries by the racecourse and local police officers, no next of kin have been identified for the person named as Gary Bonsor on a sticker on the side of the urn. No racegoers could shed any light on the mystery, and the local crematoriums were also unable to help. Now, after a petition to the ecclesiastical court of the Diocese of Oxford, Mr Bonsor – or whoever the urn contains – will finally be laid to rest in a local parish churchyard. Though the wishes of the person’s next of kin may not be known, according to the vicar of St Mary’s, Greenham, this will at least give the ashes “a permanent resting place”. The curious case of the cremation urn, the fast food van, the racecourse and the medieval church court began at a race meeting on 24 July last year, when, according to police at Newbury station, “the urn and contents [were] left on a burger van counter”. Two printed stickers were stuck to the side of the urn, reading “RIP GARY BONSOR” and “MY DAD MY HERO”. But though the racecourse checked all that day’s tickets for the unusual surname and wrote to all ticket-holders, there was no response. …