Taschler isn’t feeling much like a doll or appreciated these days after losing her cellphone at the store. — Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
The name Kate Taschler might not ring a bell for most, but chances are those who frequent the Southgate Kroger Marketplace could possibly recall seeing her from time to time.
The 28-year-old is one of several employees who work there with a disability.
Taschler has autism and her mother, Jacqueline Erpa, said customers she greets “thinks she’s just a doll”.
Taschler isn’t feeling much like a doll or appreciated these days after losing her cellphone at the store.
It appears someone picked it up and left the store with it.
Her mother explained that her daughter counts on her phone to give her alerts to do different tasks.
It notifies her when it’s time to take her medication.
It reminds her to brush her teeth and get ready for work.
It is an essential tool for her functionality during the day.
So, when she discovered her phone was missing while on the job March 29, Taschler said she “started freaking out”.
“That phone meant everything to me,” Taschler said. “I listened to music on it and watch videos. It helps calm me. My manager came over and she tried to help me.”
Using the Find My Phone app, the information indicated that Taschler’s phone was across the street from the store at a nearby apartment complex.
They concluded that someone found it and kept it, but they didn’t want to confront anyone about giving it back.
Taschler was devastated not only because her phone was gone, but also because she realised someone would knowingly keep her phone and not care enough to try and give it back.
She was heartbroken.
Taschler was holding on to hope that whoever had the phone would still turn it in once her mother posted about it on Facebook explaining how much she needed it and there would be no questions asked.
That didn’t happen.
“My daughter is kind, loving and devastated that someone would be so cruel,” Erpa wrote on social media. “Kate has autism and believes in good, not evil. Please, if you accidentally picked up the phone, drop it off at Kroger customer service. Restore her faith in mankind.”
Erpa said no one really understands what those with autism go through and said people need to think about who they could be taking from, and hurting, before keeping something that does not belong to them.
While Taschler has faith that someone could still come forward with the phone, her mother is not so optimistic about that outcome.
“If someone was going to turn it in it would have been returned by now,” Erpa said.
The phone has since been replaced.
Taschler now has a waist bag to put her phone in to reduce the chances of it being lost.
The day the phone went missing, Taschler said she came home extremely sad and was greeted by her dog Copper.
She said her dog was jumping up on her as if he knew she was heartbroken and needed a hug.
“He made me feel happy and I said, ‘You're comforting me’,” Taschler said. “My supervisor, Michelle Horvath, helped me, too. I like my supervisor.”
When asked what she would have done if she found a phone unattended, Taschler responded without hesitation.
“I would do what Jesus would want me to do and turn it in,” she said.
Taschler had a few direct words for the person who has her phone.
“Ask yourself how could you do this to even a person without a disability,” Taschler said. The News Herald, Southgate, Mich./Tribune News Service
