Thief takes irreplaceable letter after breaking into Edmonton mother’s car

An Edmonton mom is holding out hope she will be reunited with a piece of paper that means more to her than money.

On May 1, Amanda Mitchell was driving her kids to school when she noticed her car had been rifled through.

“I realized I had left my purse in the car and it was gone,” she said. “I had pretty much everything in it because I’d just come back from Calgary.”

But losing her drivers license and credit cards was not what was bothering her most.

“I realized with a sick feeling in my stomach that there was a letter in my purse that I carry around every day from my brother,” she explained. “He passed away last year.”

Monday marks the anniversary of his death.

“That was the last tangible remnant of who he was and I carried it every day with me. It brought me a lot of sorrow but it also brought me a lot of comfort.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "That was the last tangible remnant of who he was and I carried it every day with me. It brought me a lot of sorrow but it also brought me a lot of comfort."

She reached out to friends on Facebook, hoping someone might find the discarded letter or purse.

The one other thing in the purse Mitchell wants back is a charm bracelet her children got for her.

“These two things mean everything to me,” she said, choking back tears. “They don’t mean anything to the person who took the purse and I don’t think they were looking for them anyway.”

The car was broken into in the MacEwan neighbourhood in southwest Edmonton.

“That’s what’s bothersome about this. Somebody has them or somebody discarded them and they’re just being treated like garbage and I don’t want that. I just want them returned to me because they mean everything to me. They’re irreplaceable to me.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "That's what's bothersome about this. Somebody has them or somebody discarded them and they're just being treated like garbage and I don't want that. I just want them returned to me because they mean everything to me. They're irreplaceable to me."

The letter was in a large black purse with simple silver accents. If you find the purse or letter, take it to the police station.

“I have faith that somebody is going to do the right thing,” she said.