A young boy with special needs has been reunited with his missing trombone.
The instrument, which belongs to Aidan Milligan, 9, of Drexel Hill, went missing last Thursday. Milligan is a child with down syndrome and his parents say the trombone is his most treasured possession. They also say he was looking forward to his weekly music lesson.
Aidan's mother Helen says her son put the trombone outside on the curb near their car on Warrior Road on Thursday and it was gone only a few minutes later.
"We hope this is just a mistake, that they thought it was trash day and he had it out on the curb and that they see this and hopefully return it," said Helen.
The trombone is worth somewhere between $800 and $1,000.
On Sunday, Haverford Police announced they found the trombone and notified Aidan's family. They went to South Detectives Monday morning and the boy was reunited with his beloved instrument.
Police believe the person who took it likely thought someone left it by the trash to give it away. The person saw the story on the news and returned it to Philadelphia Police.
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"Thank you," said Helen to whoever took and then returned the instrument. "It took a lot of courage to come out and return it after picking it up. It would have just been easy to hide it in the closet or keep it away. But it goes to show there are people who are out there who are going to do the right thing."
The Philadelphia Orchestra saw the original story over the weekend and originally offered to give Aidan a new trombone if his old one wasn't found. Now that the instrument has been returned, the orchestra now wants Aidan's entire family to come to a performance later this month. They also want Aidan to meet the orchestra's trombonists.
