A Guelph woman says her faith in humanity has been restored after a stolen jacket, belonging to her father who passed away nine years ago, was returned to her.
Emma Nip has held onto her dad’s jacket ever since his death in 2010 and it’s one of few items of his that she has kept.
“We would travel everywhere as a family and he always brought that jacket with him,” she said in an interview on Thursday. “I would wear it and it always reminded me of him.”
The blue windbreaker was taken from her back seat last month when her car was broken into.
It couldn’t have come at a worse time, either.
“It was a week before the nine-year anniversary of my dad’s passing,” Nip said. “The anniversary of his passing also coincides with Father’s Day and then his birthday is a week later.”
Nip admitted that she accidentally left her car unlocked — something she rarely ever does — and she didn’t think much of it being ransacked at first.
It wasn’t until she started driving that she realized the sentimental keepsake that she has held onto for all these years was gone.
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“I immediately pulled over and started crying,” she said.
While a police report was filed, attempts to get surveillance video were unsuccessful. Nip even checked nearby dumpsters hoping the thief tossed the jacket away.
As a last-ditch effort, a friend suggested she post photos of the jacket on social media which were then quickly shared widely.
“It was just so nice to see messages of support from family and friends, and strangers as well,” she said.
Just when she was about to lose hope completely, Nip received a message from a man who told her that he had seen someone wearing a similar jacket that was apparently acquired recently.
The man was able to get the jacket and even sent Nip a photo of it to confirm.
“Once I saw proof of the photo then I just cried. And when I got it back I cried. There was a lot of crying.”
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As promised, no questions were asked when she picked it up this week and Nip said she’s just happy to have her dad’s jacket back, which will not be left in her car anymore.
Nip also wanted to share a big thank you to the entire Guelph community for helping out.
“Not only to the people who shared the post and all the kind words but to the person that decided to return the jacket,” she said.
“I’m just glad they did the right thing in the end.”
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