Thief steals camera, pictures of family's deceased newborn child

SALT LAKE CITY — The birth of a child is a precious moment for new parents, and even more so for the Zarbocks, who had to say hello and goodbye at the same time.

"My wife crocheted a blanket for her that we're going to bury her in tomorrow," said Nicholas Zarbock. His wife, Dani, gave birth to a baby boy, Zachary, a baby girl, Taylor, and another baby girl, Reese, who was stillborn.

"(They) handed her right to me, wrapped her up and let me hold her," Zarbock said.

Professional photographer Ambur Hill snapped pictures of Reese as part of the volunteer organization called "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep," a group of photographers who donate their time to document families who lose their newborns.

"Hopefully by you coming there, you give them something to keep forever and cherish forever," Hill said.

After the shoot, she drove to her second job and parked in this garage outside of the Shilo Inn Downtown. Her car was broken into and her camera, a Canon 5D Mark 2, had been stolen, along with all of the photos of Reese's brief life. None of the images were backed up.

"It was already hard enough," Zarbock said. "We already lost our little baby, had this wonderful service come take pictures of her, we were so happy to get them."

Now, Ambur and the Zarbocks are pleading with whoever has the camera to return the memory card. Memories of their precious daughter will blur as her siblings grow. The pictures are proof their beautiful baby girl was here.

"We're thrilled that we have our babes, we just want the pictures to have all three of them," Zarbock said.

The family says if you look at the pictures, there's no mistaking what they are of. They say you can even drop the memory card off at the hospital, no questions asked.

Thursday is Reese's funeral.

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