Ed Allesch remembers the depths of his daughter’s addiction, things that every parent who has ever been in his situation can relate to — rehab, relapses, thefts of pills and cash from himself and neighbors, finding needles in the house.

A 24-year-old Lehighton High School graduate, Sabrina Allesch, lost her battle with addiction on June 11.But more than those times, Allesch also remembers the good days with Sabrina, the youngest of three girls.He can recall road trips they took to Maine. Motorcycle rides in Florida. Sometimes, they’d put her dog, Grace, in Ed’s lap as he drove around Lehighton, shocking and cracking up drivers as they drove.But only those who have gone through it know what it is like to lose a child to addiction. Allesch’s love for his daughter was only matched by the frustration he felt when she would feed her addiction.Sabrina had gone to rehab and kicked the habit. For a time, she managed it with the help of Vivitrol — a once-a-month injection that costs $1,100.Parents who have lost a child to an overdose also deal with the guilt of their own actions, whether or not they actually contributed to the person’s death.Allesch blames himself for having to give up the Vivitrol shots because of his own fixed income and medical issues. He’s had to have surgery on a replaced knee more than six times.“I can’t sleep at night. I think of her and wake up. I gotta go outside and walk around,” he said.Unfortunately, a few days after Sabrina’s funeral, he lost the record of the beautiful memories his family had made in between the struggles. His camera, which contained a memory card documenting the good times of his family and late daughter, went missing.“All the pictures of the last four, five years, everything was on there,” he said.The card also included the last photos he would ever take of Sabrina.Allesch had filled the camera’s memory card with photos of Sabrina and her two sisters, but he didn’t know how to download them.“I can rebuild your motor and transmission, but when it comes to electronics, I couldn’t even program my damn VCR, the kids had to do it for me,” he said.He searched for about a week at the spots he may have dropped it. He searched his two garages in Lehighton, as well as the spots that he takes Sage and his other dog for walks.About a week later, he placed a classified ad in the Times News. He repeatedly checked pawnshops in Lehighton to see if the camera was stolen and pawned. He’s offered a $200 reward, even offered to give the person the camera as long as he gets back his memory card.“I still check everywhere,” he said.Recently, he’s gotten calls about cameras found around the state. He’s particularly tormented about a caller who said they had found a camera, but hung up on him because he wanted them to identify themselves.The photos of Sabrina that Allesch does have, he treasures.In her graduation photo, the athletic blonde is smiling from ear to ear, with colorful piercings in her nose and lip. One shows Allesch proudly seeing her and a friend off for her prom, Sabrina wearing a sequined black dress.He also has Grace, a kindhearted pit bull mix. Allesch said that he’s trying to help Grace cope with the loss of her companion.“I’m a good help for Grace because she’s so bummed out,” he said.And hopefully someone will provide the same comfort to Allesch, by returning his camera.Ed Allesch can be reached at

484-629-5243