Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Photos of late daughter back in mom's hands
TORONTO -- Teresa Solta has a new routine. Every Sunday, at exactly 7 p.m. she plans to back up everything on her laptop.
Especially the photographs.
The Winnipeg woman is breathing a huge sigh of relief after recovering irreplaceable family photos from a laptop that was stolen and erased this month.
And if her luck holds out, she might retrieve even more pictures of the daughter she lost to cancer just two months ago.
"I know they're just pictures but on the other hand they're so tied to my heart," she said.
Solta's 17-year-old daughter Marisa ended a nine-year battle with rare form of spinal cord cancer in March.
An old laptop, which had been ferried between home and hospital, held all the pictures Solta had snapped of her child over the last three years.
When the device was snatched from a Toronto health-care centre last week, Solta felt the wrenching pain of losing her daughter all over again.
"It really hurt, believe me," said the soft-spoken Manitoba native, who is staying at the Princess Margaret Hospital Lodge as her father receives treatment.
Police recovered the laptop on Thursday after arresting Bradley Warford, of Barrie, Ont. The 35-year-old was wanted on charges of break and enter and breach of parole.
But Solta's relief was short-lived after she learned her hard drive, and consequently her precious photographs, had been erased.
"It was like we went one step forward, one step backwards," Solta said. "It was devastating."
Solta's emotional roller-coaster of a week took another sharp turn the next day when a stranger phoned her with an offer to help.
Torontonian John Riddell, who works for On Track Data recovery, was so struck by Solta's tale that he felt compelled to help.
"That's why I reacted so quickly," said Riddell, who is an expert at retrieving data.
"I wanted to make sure nothing else was done to the computer to get a better success rate."
After working on the old laptop for 18 hours, Riddell and a group of engineers managed to recover about 1,500 of Solta's visual treasures on Friday. They are still trying for more.
"I'm hoping to have something for Teresa before she leaves on Thursday, or any time sooner so we don't have to keep her hanging."
To top it all, Dell Canada, which had offices in the same building as Riddell, heard Solta's story and gave her a new laptop to put her pictures on.
Solta said she's been bowled over by the kindness of strangers such as Riddell, who've heard her story and done whatever they could to help.
"It really is overwhelming, in a very good way," she said. "I really didn't think that it would matter to anyone else."
Solta added she never imagined a big city like Toronto could offer such warmth and kindness to an out-of-towner.
"If it weren't for the public and the media and the police I would not have got it back," she said. "I really can't say thank-you enough."
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 16, 2010 A9
The comment period for this story has ended.
-
Breaking News Alerts
Sign up for our new Breaking News Alerts
-
Editor's Bulletin
Sign up for daily bulletins
-
Winnipeg road closures
Check if your commute is affected
-
Blogs to Watch
We pick our favourite local blogs for you to follow
-
Breaking News Widget
Create and embed a Winnipeg Free Press breaking news widget on your site or blog
-
Twitter
Follow our reporters and news feeds on Twitter
Ads by Google
- Back to Top
- Return to Canada
Poll
Most Popular
- New complaint against judge
- Driver dies in two-vehicle collision near Anola
- No deal on Coyotes, talks continue
- Bargain hunters take note
- Woman went for walk, hasn’t returned home
- Pierce not throwing in towel yet
- Former RCMP officer facing jail time
- Teen robbed at bus stop
- Do you think Mayor Katz' pledge to add 58 police officers will make a difference?
- Shunned after fling with daughters' friend
- Shunned after fling with daughters' friend
- New complaint against judge
- 'Nothing short of a miracle' at how well missing woman fared
- Woman went for walk, hasn’t returned home
- Expanded weather warnings issued ahead of hurricane Earl
- Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery
- Dirty secret not so secret in city's legal community
- Bar association slams CBC over judge sex scandal coverage
- Five hurt in head-on crash
- Search on for woman missing in Belair Provincial Forest
- Boyfriend's porno secret discovered
- Shunned after fling with daughters' friend
- Major downpour floods streets, knocks out power
- Judge embroiled in sex scandal removes self from bench
- Woman dead after apparent fall from downtown high-rise
- Pedestrian dies after collision with truck
- Jennifer's body
- Illegal channel irks cottagers
- New complaint against judge
- 'Nothing short of a miracle' at how well missing woman fared
- Sex offender has sentence reduced
- No deal on Coyotes, talks continue
- Two thongs don't make a right
- Transit advocates plan Katz protest today
- Katz pledges more cops
- Detractors say Ottawa should steer clear of Quebec City hockey arena project
- Bombers ready to give Lumsden a test drive
- Bargain hunters take note
- Driver dies in two-vehicle collision near Anola
- Florida minister determined to hold Qur’an burn on 9/11, despite international outcry
- Katz pledges to add 58 police officers
- Enough for a passport, but not MPI
- Shunned after fling with daughters' friend
- Bombers fall 27-23 to Roughriders
- Man hurt after truck slams into bridge
- Wasylycia-Leis alleges Katz interference in info requests
- Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery
- Sex offender has sentence reduced
- Bombers in talks with Lumsden
- Five hurt in head-on crash
- Care denied after fee not paid
- RM denies permission for group home
- Katz pledges to add 58 police officers
- Just a sec, say traffic activists
- Band threatens to block access to Whiteshell
- Canopy opens can of worms
- Brian really was lyin'
- Wasylycia-Leis pledges to launch two new crime-fighting programs
- Toews says ship carrying migrants a 'test boat'
- RM wrong to run New Directions out of town
- CT, nuclear imaging tests in pregnancy don't raise risk of cancer in kids: study
- New complaint against judge
- Bargain hunters take note
- Israelis convinced new peace initiative has a chance
- Facebook a big hit with narcissists and people with low self-esteem: study
- Psst! Campaign a-paws to lure Dog Whisperer
- No men in the pews? Could be church's fault
- Bottom OF THE CLASS
- Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery
- Garden park for wee ones
- No men in the pews? Could be church's fault
- Oh, Zsuzsanna
- Bottom OF THE CLASS
- Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery
- Airport plan grounded
- Spin on the river turns adventurous
- Judge disclosed 'problem'
- History BY THE SLICE
- CT, nuclear imaging tests in pregnancy don't raise risk of cancer in kids: study
- Cute Alert! Zoo unveils panda cubs
- Judge embroiled in sex scandal removes self from bench
- Dashcam video shows car flying into overpass, being reduced to parts; driver critical
- No men in the pews? Could be church's fault
- Families find Manitoba's first jellyfish
- Tiny 10-year-old stuns judges, audience with huge voice
- STEINKOPF ROCKED
- Oh, Zsuzsanna
- N.D. clinic to offer controversial MS screening
- Green slime can be toxic, experts say
- Best films in Hollywood history to be shown on big screen
Events
September 9, 2010
Life in the Spirit Seminar
Seven weekly sessions of teaching and sharing on the gifts of the holy spirit, an invitation to youth and adults of all faiths, at Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic church, 1001 Grant Avenue, call Marianne ...






0 Comments
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.