This Lawyer Lost – And Found! – 2 BlackBerry Phones That Survived Months of Winter. Here’s How.

Have you ever lost your smartphone and been surprised when someone returns it?

Well for Paul Grespan, an Ontario, Canada lawyer, it’s happened twice. And the arduous journeys his BlackBerry devices took are a testament to the unmatched durability of BlackBerry and the kindness of strangers.

Paul Grespan in Waterloo with his dogs. Credit: Grespan family.

Is that a BlackBerry on the top of that car?

After a long day of work in late October 2014, Paul left the office and realized before he got into his car that he’d forgotten something. Trying to juggle a briefcase, files and his BlackBerry Q10, he left his BlackBerry on the roof of his car while he quickly ran back inside. In the flurry of activity, he forgot about his BlackBerry on the rooftop and drove away. Once he realized his mistake, Paul stopped and checked for it, even driving back to the office, but it was gone. In need of his coveted communications tool ASAP, Paul didn’t hold out for its return and purchased a new BlackBerry Q10.

What Paul didn’t know was that his Q10 had fallen off the roof of his car into the gap between the hood and windscreen. Either that night or on another trip, the BlackBerry was hurled from the car by centrifugal force when he drove around a roundabout near the BlackBerry campus. The BlackBerry landed in a grassy area and was soon hidden by a deep layer of snow.

Lost and found: BlackBerry Q10 after 6 months in the snow.

Super Dave to the Rescue

Dave Lachance, aka Super Dave, found Paul’s lost Q10 and dutifully returned it. Credit: Caitlin Smith

Fast forward six months later to March 2015, as we find Dave Lachance, a local bus driver for Grand River Transit, driving near the BlackBerry Northfield campus. ‘Super Dave,’ as he’s known to friends and customers because of his six-foot-six height, noticed a black shape in the grass.

“I knew it was a BlackBerry,” said Super Dave. “I impressed one of my passengers who couldn’t believe I’d spotted a BlackBerry in the grass.”

Super Dave stopped his bus by the BlackBerry buildings and ran over to the BlackBerry Q10, still in a holster, covered in mud. The next time his bus route took him to the mall, he brought it into one of the wireless shops.

The sales associate gladly charged it for him and much to their surprise, the BlackBerry booted up. The phone number on the lock screen led them to call the McCarter Grespan Law office and discover that this was Paul’s BlackBerry.

“I was flabbergasted that it was found right at the doorstep of BlackBerry”

When Paul got his lost Q10 back and learned where it had spent an entire winter under the snow, he couldn’t believe it. “I was flabbergasted that it was found right at the doorstep of BlackBerry. I walk by that area all the time with my dogs but never assumed it would end up there.”

“What absolutely amazed me is that after six long months in a snowbank, this incredible BlackBerry still worked and someone was able to charge it to find out who it belonged to,” said Paul. His office kindly rewarded Super Dave with a gift card for Tim Hortons, the Canadian donut chain.

This isn’t the first time Paul’s lost his BlackBerry. Quite a few years ago, he was skiing in Chamonix, France, when his BlackBerry Curve popped out of his pocket on to the snowy hill. Two weeks later, an Austrian skier found it and, and like the Q10, the BlackBerry was still running strong. That allowed the skier, who turned out to be a FedEx employee, to find Paul’s phone number on the BlackBerry. He dutifully contacted Paul and returned the device, via FedEx of course, at absolutely no charge.

“Both stories are a testament to BlackBerry’s durability,” exclaimed Paul, who also noted the kindness of the finders to return them. “I’ll tell you, with the two BlackBerrys that I’ve lost and have come back to me, as long as you’re making these, I’m going to have one.”

What Paul loves about his BlackBerry

It’s clear from his history of BlackBerry smartphones and the stories that go along with it, Paul loves his BlackBerry. “It’s great to be able to support someone like BlackBerry, not just because they’re in your community, but because they have a great product.”

“My BlackBerry is my communications channel,” continued Paul, who as a highly-productive business user values features like Contacts, the Hub, Text and Phone to get his work done quickly and efficiently. “It really is a key business tool, and one of the reasons we like it from a legal perspective, is the security.”

Paul Grespan in Waterloo with his coveted BlackBerry smartphones, including the Porsche Design P’9983 and the lost and found BlackBerry Q10. Credit: Caitlin Smith

Paul loves the durability of BlackBerry smartphones, too. “I tend to be very hard on my phone, and have dropped them repeatedly, even ran over my new Porsche BlackBerry in my garage – and it still works!”

Another way you can find your lost BlackBerry

Not every owner of a misplaced BlackBerry is as lucky as Paul. In the event you lose your BlackBerry, there are quick and easy steps you can take to try to locate it and protect your information on it. Just read this story about a BlackBerry employee’s wife who lost her phone and thanks to BlackBerry Protect, got it back!