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?It?s their last memories together?: Lost on Whistler Mountain, helmet camera holds last photos of Australian man?s girlfriend
Somewhere there’s a camera with some important memories stored inside and Matt Lorraway would like them back. The images, if not the camera itself.
The helmet-cam, a GoPro with a touch screen on the back and a Monster Energy sticker on it, holds the last footage taken of Lorraway, 31, and his girlfriend Rebecca Ware — who died two weeks ago at the age of just 23.
The camera is perhaps buried under snow at the bottom of the Lower Olympic run at the Creekside base of Whistler Mountain. Or maybe it’s in someone’s possession after being found.
Australians Lorraway and Ware visited Whistler in February. He’s a repeat visitor, but for Ware it was her first snow experience.
UNDIAGNOSED LEUKEMIA
They arrived Feb. 3, Lorraway reported his missing camera to lost-and-found Feb. 10 and they returned to their hometown of Mackay, Queensland, on Feb. 17.
On Feb. 22, Ware died of complications from leukemia, which she was unaware she had.
“It’s tragic,” Amy McArthur, a close friend of Lorraway, said over the phone from Mackay.
“The day they got home, Bec went to the hospital. She had big bruises from falling on the slopes and they weren’t going away.
“They did some tests. She had leukemia and she was flown to a hospital in Townsville [400 kilometres to the north].
“She died five days later.”
'BRIGHT AND BUBBLY'
Ware’s older sister, Kirsty Skaines, said the family is trying to cope with her sudden death.
“She was bright and bubbly, and made an instant impression on everyone,” Kirsty said from Australia. “When she smiled the whole room would light up.”
Kirsty said finding the photos would be a relief after the tragic news.
“It’s very important for us, and for her partner Matty. He’s devastated. It’s their last memories together.”
Kirsty said Rebecca’s quick death has been hard to take.
“We’re very shocked,” she said. “There was no indication at all. It’s very scary.”
'MATT'S BEEN REALLY BRAVE'
Mackay is a city of 75,000 on the Queensland coast, 970 km north of the state capital Brisbane.
Known as the Sugar Capital of Australia, it’s also the home base for nearby coal mines, one of which employs Lorraway.
“Matt’s been really brave, really strong,” McArthur said. “He’s going back to work, back to his routines.
“He’s got lots of family and friends around him.”
From their base at the Pan Pacific Mountainside in Whistler village, Lorraway introduced Ware to skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and the zip line.
Ware, the manager of Mackay Spa and Hair Studio, was so enthralled with Whistler-Blackcomb that she and Lorraway had looked into property prices.
Ware’s parents and sister have organized a shave-for-a-cure day on March 23, when all her friends and family — male and female — will shave their heads.
NOTICES POSTED
Both Whistler-Blackcomb and McArthur have posted notices about the missing camera on their respective Facebook pages. By Thursday afternoon, McArthur’s post had had 1,500 shares.
Anyone with information can email McArthur at amymc1984@hotmail.com or phone 011-61-43-494-8996.
The couple had taken the Creekside gondola to the mid-station the day the camera fell off Lorraway’s helmet, then skied down Lower Olympic.
Lorraway is certain the camera became detached near the bottom.
“Bec absolutely loved Whistler, loved skiing,” McArthur said. “She couldn’t wait to go back.”
Read more: ?It?s their last memories together?: Lost on Whistler Mountain, helmet camera holds last photos of Australian man?s girlfriend
Somewhere there’s a camera with some important memories stored inside and Matt Lorraway would like them back. The images, if not the camera itself.
The helmet-cam, a GoPro with a touch screen on the back and a Monster Energy sticker on it, holds the last footage taken of Lorraway, 31, and his girlfriend Rebecca Ware — who died two weeks ago at the age of just 23.
The camera is perhaps buried under snow at the bottom of the Lower Olympic run at the Creekside base of Whistler Mountain. Or maybe it’s in someone’s possession after being found.
Australians Lorraway and Ware visited Whistler in February. He’s a repeat visitor, but for Ware it was her first snow experience.
UNDIAGNOSED LEUKEMIA
They arrived Feb. 3, Lorraway reported his missing camera to lost-and-found Feb. 10 and they returned to their hometown of Mackay, Queensland, on Feb. 17.
On Feb. 22, Ware died of complications from leukemia, which she was unaware she had.
“It’s tragic,” Amy McArthur, a close friend of Lorraway, said over the phone from Mackay.
“The day they got home, Bec went to the hospital. She had big bruises from falling on the slopes and they weren’t going away.
“They did some tests. She had leukemia and she was flown to a hospital in Townsville [400 kilometres to the north].
“She died five days later.”
'BRIGHT AND BUBBLY'
Ware’s older sister, Kirsty Skaines, said the family is trying to cope with her sudden death.
“She was bright and bubbly, and made an instant impression on everyone,” Kirsty said from Australia. “When she smiled the whole room would light up.”
Kirsty said finding the photos would be a relief after the tragic news.
“It’s very important for us, and for her partner Matty. He’s devastated. It’s their last memories together.”
Kirsty said Rebecca’s quick death has been hard to take.
“We’re very shocked,” she said. “There was no indication at all. It’s very scary.”
'MATT'S BEEN REALLY BRAVE'
Mackay is a city of 75,000 on the Queensland coast, 970 km north of the state capital Brisbane.
Known as the Sugar Capital of Australia, it’s also the home base for nearby coal mines, one of which employs Lorraway.
“Matt’s been really brave, really strong,” McArthur said. “He’s going back to work, back to his routines.
“He’s got lots of family and friends around him.”
From their base at the Pan Pacific Mountainside in Whistler village, Lorraway introduced Ware to skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and the zip line.
Ware, the manager of Mackay Spa and Hair Studio, was so enthralled with Whistler-Blackcomb that she and Lorraway had looked into property prices.
Ware’s parents and sister have organized a shave-for-a-cure day on March 23, when all her friends and family — male and female — will shave their heads.
NOTICES POSTED
Both Whistler-Blackcomb and McArthur have posted notices about the missing camera on their respective Facebook pages. By Thursday afternoon, McArthur’s post had had 1,500 shares.
Anyone with information can email McArthur at amymc1984@hotmail.com or phone 011-61-43-494-8996.
The couple had taken the Creekside gondola to the mid-station the day the camera fell off Lorraway’s helmet, then skied down Lower Olympic.
Lorraway is certain the camera became detached near the bottom.
“Bec absolutely loved Whistler, loved skiing,” McArthur said. “She couldn’t wait to go back.”
Read more: ?It?s their last memories together?: Lost on Whistler Mountain, helmet camera holds last photos of Australian man?s girlfriend
