A west suburban Aurora woman has had to deal with two unfathomable situations in less than a week.
On Wednesday, Nicole Penoyer's boyfriend, Mike Nawara, died unexpectedly. And on Saturday, just three days later, her phone, which contained invaluable pictures of her late partner, was stolen.
That day, Penoyer came to the Walgreens at Constitution Drive and Galena Boulevard to pick up pictures for Nawara's funeral services. She paid for the photos, but accidentally left her cell phone on the counter.
"It was about 15 minutes later, we called to see if the phone was laying there, we were told no," she recounted. "They were going to call us back with video, and they never called us back.”
So, that day, Penoyer went on Facebook and posted on a community page under her boyfriend's profile, pleading for the phone to be returned - no questions asked.
"I'm willing to pay whatever it would take to get the phone back...I don't care who you are, why you took it, don't want to get you in trouble, I just NEED the phone back," the post, which has been shared more than 700 times, read. "Between him recently passing unexpectedly and having a 2 year old....I have a LOT on that phone that is not replaceable. I'll buy you a new phone if that's what it takes, just please PLEASE send me a message so I can get it back."
Through social media, Penoyer was told that a man claimed the phone, but she has yet to find him or track the phone down.
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"Whoever that guy is, we just want the phone back," she said.
The grieving Aurora woman tried to access her photos online, but wasn't able to. Now, she's just holding out hope that someone does the right thing.
"“I need it back," Penoyer pleaded. "Just please bring it back. I don’t care, I don’t want to get anybody in trouble, I just want my phone.”
