You see, when you submit a report on the item lost, all the information is entered into a computer database and is cross-referenced with items logged into a database of found items. When they get a hit on this referenced search, someone examines the items and their descriptions to see if the item found is indeed the same as the one which had been lost.
It's a simple, but apparently effective method. And, based on the conversation I had with one of the "Lost & Found Dept." personnel, the pictures on the memory card appear to have been taken by me. If the story ended there, I'd be happy. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?
Some of the pictures described to me didn't sound familiar at all. So now I wonder silently, "Could it be that the person who had my camera during the past two weeks left additional pictures on my card? Could it simply be the wrong camera? Or maybe it had been stolen, as I suspected, and somehow found its way to the lost and found in spite of the fact? What additional clues will the camera offer?"
It's a mystery.
I had written-off the camera and its contents the day after it vanished. Other family members held out hope a bit longer, including my mother -- a sure sign of eternal optimism and unwavering faith in mankind. I had no such illusions; clearly, the camera had been stolen, and the culprits had gotten away with it.
I have to admit -- they were probably right. But I'm still wondering what those 'other' photos could be. . . ?
