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Mother's Phone With Photos Of Son Stolen As She Grieves His Death

ELK GROVE (CBS13) - A grieving Elk Grove mother who just lost her son is now pleading for the return of her cellphone and the memories it stores.

"It would mean everything because I don't have him anymore," Diane Hill told CBS13 on Tuesday.

Diane's son was hit by a car over the weekend. Then Monday night as she attended a memorial for him, someone stole her purse.

As Diane and her friend stood over her son's memorial, less than 100 feet away someone broke into their car and stole her purse and cellphone with pictures of Edward's last moments.

Diane will never be able to hold her 12-year-old son again, but she thought pictures of him on her phone would help her memories last forever - until somebody stole it.

"We're basically kind of in a big cloud of shock, couldn't believe something like this could happen, especially after what she's been going through," friend Tamara Escobar said. "I don't think she can take much more."

Just after dark Monday night, Diane and her friend came to drop off some items at his memorial near the spot where he was hit by a trailer and killed while riding his bike over the weekend. But when they went back to the car, Diane's purse and red Samsung phone were gone.

"I don't know what they did, but they made it bigger and stuck a tool in there that was able to open the door," Tamara said.

Pictures of Edward, including one of him in the hospital the day he passed away, are on her phone.

Diane says she doesn't care about the money, or the purse or anything else inside it. All she wants is that phone or memory card returned.

"It would mean everything because I don't have him anymore, I don't have him anymore," she said.

With Edward gone, Diane says she doesn't know what to hold onto anymore.

"I would trade anything to have him back, anything," she said.

Diane asks that whoever stole her phone drop it off at Elk Grove United Church where Edward sang in the choir and where his funeral services will be held this weekend.

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