Update
Gareth Owen posted the following to the Timmins, ON Facebook group earlier this evening:
Hello to all my Timmins Friends!
Well you're not going to believe this, but my backpack has been found!
Thanks to the amazing work by the Timmins Police, Airport Manager and my good friend Peggy McLeod, the person who picked it up (Out of town guest) was located and has already shipped it back to my home in Vancouver.
While I can't go into all of the details I am overwhelmed with relief and love for the community of Timmins.
Once again I want to thank all of you, your friends and family for making this bad situation a great one and for sending so many good vibes my way.
I will never forget this trip and feel blessed to have made such great new friends.
I can't wait to return next year!
Bless you all and have a wonderful Christmas!
Cheers!
Gareth
Original story:
Gareth Owen was a week into a business trip to Timmins on Monday when he went to the airport to pick up a colleague.
What happened there has put the IT contractor in an annoying pickle, but he says it has also demonstrated how thoughtful and helpful the people of this Northern Ontario city can be.
While packing his colleague’s luggage into a rented SUV, Owen says he remembers having to click the motorized rear hatch shut a second time after getting into the car.
His own backpack had gone in last and when he arrived at his hotel after lunch out, he discovered it was missing.
“It must have fallen out,” when the hatch popped open at the airport, said Owen.
Owen went back and checked, but found no sign of the black bag, or the MacBook he uses for work.
Now for the pickle.
Along with the laptop and other items, Owen, a U.K. citizen with permanent residency status in Canada, had packed in that bag some critical pieces of identification.
“The thing that’s killing me right now is my passport and permanent residency card,” said Owen, who lives in Vancouver.
He estimates it will take between 4-5 months to get those replaced, during which time he will be forced to cancel a number of scheduled out-of-country business trips.
A Timmins friend Owen used to work with, Peggy McLeod, put the word out through the Timmins, ON Facebook group and while he still hasn’t got the back back, or his ID, Owen said he was shocked to see how many people responded.
“I’m just overwhelmed with how many people are looking out for it,” said Owen.
A thank-you posted to the group on Thursday was shared more than 400 times.
Owen said he doesn’t think it is likely he will get his stuff back, or his ID, though he still has one hand to play.
Owen, who knows a thing or two about computers, acted fast when he realized his laptop was gone. He signed into his iTunes account and sent a lock signal to his MacBook, rendering it effectively useless.
He put out a message yesterday that if he got his ID back by midnight, he would send the person the lock code to the laptop, no questions asked.
He hasn’t heard a response and has to cancel his passport soon, but said the offer still stands for now.
In the meantime, he says the incident has far from soured his view of Timmins.
“The thing that really warms my heart is knowing Timmins has come together for this British guy who nobody knows,” said Owen. “I feel quite emotional about it.”
