Anonymous strangers stump up $25,000 for grieving parents' lost mobile
Warning: This story contains images that may distress some readers.
An anonymous couple have come up with a $25,000 reward for the return of a mobile phone full of irreplaceable photos of a little girl who died days after it was stolen.
Grieving parents Jay and Dee Windross, from Boronia, launched a public appeal after the Samsung Galaxy X was snatched from the toilets at Chadstone Shopping Centre on the Easter long weekend.
Days later their 11-month-old daughter Amiyah died at Monash Children's Hospital from a neurological condition she had been battling since birth.
Amiyah would have had her first birthday on May 21.
On Monday, Mr Windross confirmed an anonymous Melbourne couple has stumped up $25,000 as a reward for the return of the mobile with a purple case.
Although he hasn't spoken directly to the donors, Mr Windross said the couple had almost lost a child of their own and "related to our story".
Mr Windross said he had expected the phone to have been returned by now but the donation had buoyed their spirits.
"All of a sudden this comes out of the blue," he said.
"It's a really, really generous offer.
"We always have hope, like we always had hope with Amiyah."
He called for whoever has the mobile to come forward.
"Just at least let us know if they dumped the phone, or wiped the phone," Mr Windross said.
"If they feel scared because of the media ... the photos and the memories that are in that phone are bigger than any issue in the world.
"This is the sort of closure to this episode that we just need."
He urged parents in the area to ask their children if they know anything.
The parents have been targeted by two scams since their story went public.
Malaysian mother Siti Nurhidayah Kamal, 24, has been charged with blackmail after allegedly pretending to have the mobile phone and demanding $1000 for its return.
A fake fundraiser was also set up but quickly removed by GoFundMe.
"The campaign in question did not raise any money and was quickly removed from the platform," GoFundMe Australia regional manager Nicola Britton said.
A genuine fundraiser has raised more than $10,000.
Anyone with information should ontact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.