A grieving mother made an emotional appeal yesterday for a thief to return her dead son’s stolen laptop.
Barbara Noble’s autistic son Kieran collapsed and died at home in Insch last month at the age of just 27.
And the family’s grief at his sudden passing has been made even worse, after a callous thief stole his laptop as they cleared out his home – robbing them of precious memories.
Yesterday Ms Noble made a heartfelt plea to have the computer returned so they can access his photos.
The 56-year-old said: “My son lived his life through his computer. This is the one last thing we have left of him.
“This has robbed us of that. It’s like a lifeline to him – everything that was on there was him.”
Kieran, who had autism and other health difficulties, worked two days a week with Fly Cup catering – a Scottish charity which enables adults with learning disabilities to access training and employment opportunities within the catering sector.
But his pride and joy was his computer – which he used for entertainment, often streaming comedy videos for his mum when she visited.
Ms Noble said: “When I used to go round he would take great glee in going to the computer and showing me clips from Youtube.
“We used to sit and roar laughing at all the things he used to show me.
“I just want to have those memories back – all I have is a few photos left of him now.
“I have nothing left to lose. I just want to appeal to this person’s human nature, at this time of the year, as my family are grieving for the loss of a young man.”
The distinctive black and red laptop, which is either a Samsung model Rv30 or an HP G62, was given to Kieran by charity The Sequal Trust, which supplies specialist communication equipment to disabled people across the UK.
Ms Noble believes a thief stole the computer while she was emptying Kieran’s home last Tuesday.
She added: “It’s difficult to believe anyone could thieve from a young lad who has just died but I hope those concerned will do the right thing to help a grieving mother come to terms with her son’s death and make contact to return the laptop.”
Police said inquiries into the theft are ongoing. Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.