The family of a 21-month-old girl who is battling stage 4 cancer got some good news Thursday.
A backpack containing the little girl’s medication that was stolen from the family’s SUV was returned after it was found at a Union City gas station, police said.
The bag was stolen Wednesday during Hailey Allen’s trip to Atlanta for an oncology appointment, AJC.com previously reported.
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The family got a call from their doctor after a man discovered the backpack and noticed the physician’s contact information, Atlanta police spokesman Officer Steve Avery said Friday in a news release. A meeting was set up Thursday so the family could have some of their belongings returned.
“We believe the man who found the bag at a gas station in Union City is a good Samaritan and contacted the family’s doctor,” Avery said in the release. “We also believe the family got back some of the items of sentimental value, including the child’s journals and cancer beads, along with some medication.”
The theft was discovered early Wednesday morning when Allen’s family left their downtown Atlanta hotel for her 7 a.m. appointment, her mother told Channel 2 Action News.
The family lives in Warner Robins and commutes to Atlanta for the girl's treatment. Hailey has already undergone 35 weeks of chemotherapy for Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
When they got to their SUV in the parking lot of the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel on Courtland Street, the sight made their hearts drop.
A backseat window was smashed, leaving glass all over the toddler’s booster seat, her family said. The child’s medication and medical papers were gone, along with several sentimental items.
“She has a 20% chance of making it to age 4, and I think that’s the toughest thing for me as her mom,” her mother said. “There are things in that book bag that mean so much to me.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Though most of the items have been returned, several electronics taken from the family’s SUV are still missing, authorities said.
Police said the family tracked some of their valuables to a South Fulton home. Authorities executed a search warrant at the house earlier this week but didn’t find any of the family’s belongings. As of Friday, no arrests have been made in the case, Avery said.
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