A Comox Valley woman is celebrating after thrift shoppers from a TV show found her late father鈥檚 belongings inside an abandoned storage bin in Vancouver.

Skeena Reece was invited to Richmond to pick up a collection of her father鈥檚 artwork and memorabilia. Thrifters from the Animal Planet series Pets and Pickers said they had wood masks, family photographs, and a gift she painted 36 years ago.

Skeena travelled to a thrift shop on the Lower Mainland and was greeted by a table adorned with the possessions. One item in particular caught her attention: a Father鈥檚 Day gift.

鈥淗appy fathers day DAD! I love you!鈥� read her pre-teenage brush strokes on a cutting-board-sized wood canvas. 鈥淛une 16, 1987. Age. 12. Grade. 7.鈥�

Thrift store manager Karen Kamachi told Skeena the Father鈥檚 Day present was key to finding the family. That鈥檚 because Skeena painted her father鈥檚 name, 鈥淰ictor Reece,鈥� in giant, curly font, and signed her name on the back.

鈥淗e kept it,鈥� Kamachi said softly. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how we found you.鈥�

Skeena told the Record her favourite item was her father鈥檚 baseball cap, which still smells of the late artist鈥檚 woodcarving studio. She said she tucked it into one of the many 鈥渃are packages鈥� that she gave to family members, who each received something to remember Victor by.

鈥淲e are so blessed,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hank you to all of the people who worked on this recovery.鈥�

TV-show Pets and Pickers found Victor鈥檚 locker last year. The episode was filmed in December 2022. Skeena鈥檚 story aired on TV on May 13, 2023.

Pets and Pickers follows a veterinary hospital that is supported by 鈥減ickers,鈥� who search through abandoned, donated storage lockers in Vancouver. Pickers find items to sell, and proceeds help pay for veterinary medical care at the RAPS Animal Hospital.

READ MORE:

connor.mcdowell@comoxvalleyrecord.com
Like us on and follow us on .