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Car Burglarized at Hospital After Family Gets Great News

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis Police are reminding people not to leave valuable belongings in plain sight of your car, no matter where you park.

A family from Colfax, Wisconsin learned the hard way after parking their car at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis in a paid multi-level lot.

"It's our own fault for leaving the camera in the car, but we were a little behind on time," Abby Shearer said. "I just don't get how someone would come to a children's hospital and steal. I don't think they remotely know what people go through there."

It's upsetting for Shearer and her family on a number of levels, not only for the damage to property and the stolen camera, but also for what was on the camera. It was filled with photos and videos from their five-year-old daughter Emma's Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World in Florida.

"I never had a chance to print any of them off," Shearer said. "Some of the family got to see them most didn't."

Emma and Sister 1
(credit: Abby Shearer)

For the last few years times have been tough for the Shearer family after their daughter Emma was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, it's cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body.

At three-year-old doctors removed a tumor from Emma's body. Then shortly after Emma's baby sister Leah was born doctors found the tumor had returned and it had spread to other areas.

"Plus it [the tumor] was bigger," Shearer said. "It had spread to her skull, her right pelvic area and was in her bone marrow."

The trip meant a lot to the family, especially for Emma after what she had been through. Here's an example of her treatments:

  • Five rounds of chemo therapy
  • A Stem Cell transplant
  • 12 doses of Radiation
  • Six rounds of an antibody therapy

On April 9 during Emma's three month check up, the family went to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. They were in a rush so unfortunately they left their camera in the back seat of the car. After getting Emma a CT Scan (Computed Tomography) the family got great news that she was clear of cancer.

As the happy family returned to their car they found the driver's side rear window busted out and the camera gone. They filed a police a report and are hoping those precious memories will be returned.

"We live in a little town," Shearer said. "Being up in the big city we should've known."

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