DENVER — A St. Louis couple has lost irreplaceable memories as the camera that contained their wedding photos was taken. The wedding photographer told 9NEWS it happened at Denver International Airport earlier this month during a layover.
"I was not feeling well so I got off the plane and then when I realized I didn't have my backpack," Amber Smith, the wedding photographer, explained. "So then I went back and they were like, 'oh no one has turned anything in' and they asked the attendants to search the plane and they didn't find anything."
Smith said she tried not to cry at the moment. Not only were the memory cards in her camera bag, her back-up files were as well. She got onto her connecting flight to Utah and hoped the bag would eventually be found but it was not. She then had to deliver the difficult news to the bride, Caitlyn Dezort.
"It just punches you in the stomach and it's just hard to think about you know everything that was documented at your wedding is gone," Dezort said via Zoom from St. Louis. "Just heartbroken and devastated over it and hoping a miracle happens."
Dezort said she's most hurt about the photos taken with older relatives. She said she was thankful she purchased disposable cameras the night before the wedding so some moments were captured. She hopes whoever made that decision at DIA that day chooses to do that right thing.
"We aren’t mad you know. We know people struggle, it is rough but those wedding photos mean more to me than anything in the world. We would love to have them back," Dezort said.
While a lot was lost on that plane compassion was found. Dezort and Smith have been in constant touch doing what they can to spread the word about the backpack.
"I'm so glad we had Amber. We love her she was sweet," Dezort added. "There's nothing bad I could say about her. It's just an unfortunate mistake."
"This couldn't have happened to a nicer person, which is awful too about this whole thing," Smith continued. "I mean gear can be replaced but like the biggest thing is like the photos and memories can’t be replaced. So just to have that feels like awful to me like that’s my responsibility to capture these memories and now it’s just gone."
Amber said she learned a lot about this incident. She will add tracking devices to all of her gear bags and will mark all her bags with her contact information. She said she did reach out to Southwest Airlines but because she didn't check the bag she said it's not their responsibility so there's not much they can do. Smith created a social media video to help spread the word.
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