SAN ANTONIO — A local Amazon driver is awaiting her own one-of-a-kind delivery, hoping the community can help make it happen.
While on her route on Monday, Oct. 7, Marielle "Mari" Strickland lost a special pendant in the shape of a small gold tractor.
Inside the pendant is something that's truly irreplaceable: her grandfather's ashes.
Strickland's usual route includes the La Vernia, Sutherland Springs, Stockdale areas. But on Monday, she made deliveries in and around Converse.
"I come from a lot of hard workers. My grandma, (my grandpa), he was with me," said Strickland.
Since November of last year, Strickland always rides with company.
"He was with me, pushing me, helping me get through my route, helping me get through life," she explained.
Around her neck, she wears a chain with a quarter-sized gold pendant.
"It's not real gold. It's sentimental value. It's priceless," she said. "I never take it off."
The pendant is shaped like a tractor. Inside are the ashes of Green Strickland, her grandfather. He passed away on Nov. 9, 2023.
"He was a hard-working man... he was a farmer. He did farm work," said Strickland. "Helping people clean out their fields, he actually helped clean our cemeteries back home in the Tyler area. Anything he could do with that tractor he was gonna do it."
On Monday, Strickland was assigned a delivery load that was heavier than usual.
"I was running from door to door in those situations and everything kind of becomes a blur," she said. "Amazon has a pace, but on that day I was definitely pushing it."
In the middle of her route, Strickland discovered the tractor pendant fell off. She looked as much as she could that day, but an Amazon policy checks if drivers are in one spot for too long — so she kept that in mind.
She later searched the truck and tried retracing her steps, but no luck.
Among the Converse-area neighborhoods where she made deliveries Monday were: The Meadows at Horizon Pointe, the Horizon Pointe Apartments, Mustang Valley, Ackerman Meadows, Escondido North and Escondido Creek.
"(I was) basically all up and down Woodlake, all up and down Binz-Engleman," said Strickland.
Mari nearly came to terms with never finding her pendant. But thanks to encouragement from friends, she decided to post on Facebook, asking Converse-area neighbors to keep an eye out. Her post has more than 5,000 shares, reaching people as far as the East Coast.
Strickland said some neighbors along her Monday route checked their cameras, helping her narrow down the time frame when she may have lost the pendant.
"People were posting their Ring footage and still shots of me on their porch, like, 'Hey! You were here at 12:30 and you didn't have it on.'"
With the help of neighbors, Mari is hopeful she won't have to lose her grandfather a second time.
"I definitely would like to bring him home where he belongs so we can continue going through my life together," she said, smiling.
If you find the pendant, you can call KENS 5 at 210-366-2002. Or, reach Mari Strickland on Facebook.