A stolen memory card containing priceless memories of an around-the-world trip will soon be back in the hands of its owners, thanks to the efforts of Vancouver man.
Thom Hamilton had been on a quest to track down the owners of an SD card he found on a sidewalk in Stanley Park Oct. 10.
He found them on Saturday.
A couple identified only as Maree and Jock of Busseltown, Western Australia, were visiting Vancouver when they had their camera stolen on Sept. 29.
“They were a week away from getting home after a trip around the world,” said Hamilton, an amateur photographer.
“They were devastated,” he said. “That was all their memories.”
Maree and Jock are farmers who had been hosting overseas agricultural apprentices from around the world for the last three decades.
Their trip, which started July 22, took them to Norway, Denmark, Holland, France and Canada to visit former trainees and friends, some of whom they haven’t seen in more than 20 years. Vancouver was their last stop.
Hamilton was determined to find the memory card’s rightful owners. He posted some photos on his Facebook page, and appealed to local media.
At first, he thought the couple were Canadian.
But after combing through the 1,200 photos trying to find clues, he began thinking they might be Aussies.
Tracking the couple’s itinerary through the photos, he determined they started their trip in Singapore then travelled to Europe before ending up on Canada’s West Coast — a logical route if they were travelling from Australia.
He also found a logo on a T-shirt that eventually led him to the Woodarburrup Cup, an annual charity event in Western Australia.
Hamilton then contacted the Perth Now, the largest newspaper in the area, with the story.
After the article ran, Hamilton received a message Saturday afternoon from the couple’s cousin, and then from Maree and Jock themselves. The couple was overwhelmed with phone calls from friends and family in and around Perth who saw the article, he said.
Hamilton said he has the couple’s address, and will be sending the memory card via FedEx first thing Monday morning.
The theft of the couple’s camera was a terrible reflection of the city, said Hamilton. Returning the card to the rightful owners was “something that had to be done,” he said.
“I’m glad I had the chance to do it.”
