Maltese Woman Takes To Social Media To Track Down Lost Phone For Sentimental Photos Of Family Wedding
Last Saturday, Nicole Borg Bonaci’s sister got married at the Westin Dragonara Ballroom. As it was a family wedding, Nicole snapped a lot of sentimental photos to remember such a special day. However, by the end of the day, Nicole lost her phone, a black Huawei P9. What followed was a joint effort on social media to retrieve the mobile, and more importantly, the photos.
It all started with Nicole’s post on popular Facebook group The Salott on Sunday morning, where she explained what had happened and why this was such an important issue for her. Since the phone was still switched on, Nicole kept trying to call her own number and find her phone on Google Find My Device. However, after 12 straight hours of fruitless efforts with the phone’s 3G still switched on, the battery nearly died.
“This is my last resort,” Nicole said in the Facebook post. “I just wanted my photos because they have not been backed up and I have beautiful photos of us getting ready.”
A Huawei P9
On Monday morning, Nicole posted one more time, begging people to help her track the phone using its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. Both the hotel staff (who did their utmost to help) and her mobile phone carrier were informed of the situation, but while a report was filed at the police station, it seemed like they all turned into a dead end soon enough.
“Involving the police is not an option, because they told me they will only help if it was a high profile case,” Nicole said in her post. “I found that to be the worst part to be honest,” she told Lovin Malta. “I remember when they stole my phone from the beach back when smartphones weren’t even a thing yet. The police had done their best to track my phone down. The person who spoke to me at the police station said it either has to be a high profile case or a case of something coming to the station telling them they’d commit suicide if their phone isn’t found.”
Nicole has been using her Google account to see how much battery she has left, and whether someone used it or not in the time since she’s lost it. And while it seems like no one has used her phone since Saturday night, her phone battery is now dead.
“I couldn’t care less about the phone itself even though I’ve only had it for a year,” Nicole told Lovin Malta. “I used it to take photos of my sister getting ready for her wedding in the morning, and those photos are very close to my heart.”
The only photo Nicole managed to retrieve from that day is one with her boyfriend which she sent to a friend on their way to mass. “It’s a good thing she asked for photos I guess!”
The rest of the photos from the wedding, however, remain lost.