A Campbell River mom is asking for the public’s help finding a stolen iPhone as it contains irreplaceable photos of her late son.
On Friday evening, Diane Palmer made a Facebook post about the theft of her daughter Shyanne’s iPhone.
Palmer explained in the post that her car was broken into in the parkade at the Royal Jubilee Hospital at some point on the evening of Dec. 5.
Campbell River resident Shyanne Palmer and her son, Ashton, have been staying at the Royal Jubilee Hospital to support her partner, Evan Heslop. He is recovering from a chainsaw accident that occurred at work on Nov. 28 and almost severed one of his legs, Palmer noted.
Heslop was flown to Victoria for surgery and Shyanne followed by car with eight-month-old Ashton. She had borrowed her mother’s car and left it in the hospital parkade overnight. On the morning of Dec. 6, she found it had been broken into and several items were missing.
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While most of the stolen items are replaceable, Shyanne was “devastated” when she saw that her old rose gold iPhone 7 had been taken, Palmer said.
The old phone isn’t worth anything to a thief, Palmer explained but it’s extremely valuable to Shyanne as it contains photos of her late son and Palmer’s grandson, Corbin, as well as recordings of his heartbeat. The phone also contains photos of her other son Ashton and of Shyanne’s late grandmother.
Hospital security told Shyanne there are no surveillance cameras inside the parkade, so she called VicPD and is still waiting for updates.
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They were just settling into their “new normal” in Victoria and dealing with Heslop’s injuries, Palmer said. The theft is just “more to manage.”
The family is hoping to spread the word because unfortunately, the phone hadn’t been backed up so unless it’s returned, the contents are gone for good. By Saturday afternoon, Palmer’s Facebook post had been shared by more than 270 people. She hopes that someone will spot it and get in touch with her to return it.
The phone has no case on it, but the lock screen photo is a picture from Shyanne and Evan’s maternity shoot, Palmer noted. If the phone is found, Palmer can be reached at (250) 204-1612.
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