Sedona resident Gayle Lee is asking the community to inform her if anyone finds a bright yellow plexiglass communication board with bright letters and numbers that is about the size of a vehicle license plate. Her non-verbal adult special needs daughter Lyrica Marquez uses the device to communicate, and the device holds sentimental value because Marquez crafted it 41 years ago.      

“We were coming out of the [car wash] and of course, the traffic was hard,” Lee said. “So we just took a quick right [turn], and I heard this thump and didn’ put two and two together until later. People might say ‘How can anybody drive off with something important on top of their car?’ But when you’re loading in somebody with special needs, and bringing in and taking out all the things you need to do and supporting them, it’s an easy thing to happen.” 

The device has been Marquez’s major means of communication for over four decades and she used it to write two books with Lee, and has gone with her everywhere because it’s so portable and low tech — it’s even usable in the pool.

“[Lee] went back and looked for it but it was dark and raining at that point, so she called and left a message with the business,” according to an SPD email sent to officers. “On April 18, she met with an employee at [the car wash] and they walked the property together with no luck. [Lee] knows there is [a] very slim chance that anyone would look at it and believe for it to have any value and that it likely was thrown out. However, she is holding onto hope that it may turn up.”
Anyone who finds the device or has information is asked to contact Gayle Lee at (602) 687-3267.