Ontario woman's lost wedding dress found by thrift store volunteer after 'long shot' search
After making a "long shot" plea to the public this weekend, a woman in southern Ontario has found her lost wedding dress, mistakenly donated by her father earlier this year.
“I am beyond excited,” Tanya Walsh said Saturday afternoon. “Pure joy.”
While Walsh acknowledges all wedding dresses are special, this one has extra significance, she said.
“It was a dress my mother bought right before she passed away,” she told CTV News Toronto Friday.
Walsh was married in 2018. At the time of the ceremony, her mother was in palliative care, she said, and so they had a small gathering – only 14 guests.
“At first, I didn’t want a wedding dress but my mom and dad got married at city hall and never had a proper wedding dress,” Walsh said. “So I got the dress in hopes that it could just serve as a memory when she's gone.”
Walsh’s mother died just a few months later.
For years, the dress was stored in her late mother’s closet at her father’s home – “for safekeeping,” she said.
Walsh's wedding dress can be seen above. Earlier this year, it was donated to a Bowmanville thrift shop. Now, she's looking to find it again. (Handout by Walsh)
But come February, she learned her father had accidentally donated the dress to a Bowmanville thrift store – either the St. Vincent de Paul Value Store or The Salvation Army in Bowmanville, she said. When Walsh spoke to CTV News Toronto on Friday, she said she had called both, but neither had seen the dress come through their shops.
In a last-ditch effort to find the dress, Walsh took to social media asking local residents to keep their eyes out in thrift or pawn shops and to contact her if they saw the dress. At the time of publication, the post had been shared nearly 1,500 times.
After writing the post and sharing her story with CTV News Toronto, Walsh was notified Saturday afternoon that “a lovely volunteer” had located the gown – at one of the stores she had originally suspected it had been donated to.
“The dress [was found by] Sheila at St. Vincent de Paul store,” Walsh told CTV News Toronto Saturday. “It was in storage in the basement, tucked away,” she added.
Walsh said that, when Sheila saw the plea, she said she made it “her mission” to find the dress during her Saturday shift.
“And she came through,” Walsh said. “Thank you to everyone who helped share the story and circulate. [I'm] beyond grateful.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
'I killed four people': Trial hears video evidence of Jeremy Skibicki at Winnipeg trial
“I killed four people,” alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki told two homicide detectives during a recorded interview played as evidence in his trial Wednesday.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.