Jay Windross/FacebookThe parents of a terminally ill child are appealing to a thief to bring back a phone which was stolen, as it contains many photos of their baby daughter.
The parents, Jay Windross and his wife Dee, were shopping in Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre yesterday, April 20, when Dee stopped to use the bathroom near Target. She accidentally left her phone in the toilet cubicle, and though she ran back to get it, the phone had unfortunately already been taken.
The phone contains photos of the couple’s 11-month-old daughter, Amiyah, who is in care at Monash Children’s Hospital.
Dad Jay put the message out on Facebook, appealing for anyone with information to come forward and resolve the issue amicably, with no police involved and no grudges held.
Jay Windross/FacebookHe wrote:
Someone has picked up Dee’s phone from a toilet next door to Target in Chadstone around 5:30 pm. It is a Samsung Galaxy S8 with a purple cover.
Our 11 month daughter is currently deteriorating in ICU and is in her last days with us and this phone holds all our memories of her.
We understand that you have either found a new phone to use, or you can sell it to make money, but please understand that this means more than money to us. This is worth life to us. If it’s money you need, we will gladly offer you a cash reward for the return of the phone. No questions asked. No grudge held.
We beg you as grieving parents not to wipe the phone. This phone holds the memories of what little life our daughter has had. If you want the phone, we’re more than happy to arrange to meet, we’ll copy the photos off the phone and you can keep the phone. What is on the phone is worth more than anything in our life.
I’d like to make this transaction amicably and without the intervention of the police. If you have the phone, or know of its whereabouts – please call 0407527513 or if you want to remain anonymous – please drop the phone off to reception at Monash Children’s Hospital or any information desk at Chadstone.
Can everyone please share this around!
Someone has picked up Dee's phone from a toilet next door to Target in Chadstone around 5:30 pm. It is a Samsung Galaxy…
Posted by Jay Windross on Saturday, 20 April 2019
At the time of writing, Jay’s post has been shared more than 103,000 times, let’s hope the right person has seen the appeal and can help Jay and Dee get their photos back.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.