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Family wants stolen photos returned

A family is making a plea for the return of photos of their deceased son.
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A family is making a plea for the return of photos of their deceased son.

On Aug. 8, the RCMP investigated a theft from vehicle which occurred a week before, in the 3900 block of 14th Street in Vernon. Taken were two laptops and external hard drives, which contained photos of Patrick Petersen, who died in 2015 of cancer.

“All of this has opened up wounds that will never really heal and has left us feeling the pain all over again,” said Dwayne Petersen, father of the 26-year-old Patrick.

“I am simply making a plea to all, to anyone who may know or hear anything or know about the computers and hard drives. I beg that they please return what little a father has left other than a broken heart.”

The vehicle broken into was a black 2010 GMC Sierra pickup truck with Alberta plate YKV 627. Taken was a grey laptop bag containing a silver, 17-inch HP touchscreen laptop, a black, 13-inch Toshiba laptop and two external hard drives, one with two terabytes of storage and the other with four terabytes.

The photos capture Patrick’s life and everything he tried to do before he was confined to the hospital.

“Patrick was able to marry his girlfriend and was able to travel with me to see his lifelong favourite football team, the Denver Broncos, play and he saw his favourite player, Payton Manning,” said Dwayne.

“This would be the last time Patrick and I shared father and son time together, away from home.”

The photos also reflect his last few days in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy, dialysis and surgeries.

Anyone wishing to return these items or who may have information is asked to contact the Vernon RCMP at 250-545-7171 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

“It is one of those cases where the return of these items is all we hope to achieve, with a no questions asked,” said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk, with the RCMP.

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