Distraught Havant mum's desperate bid to find lost locket containing her baby girl's ashes

Distraught Ellie Chandler said her world had been ‘shattered’ after noticing the sentimental piece of jewellery had slipped off its chain yesterday.

The heart-shaped pendant was hand-crafted to honour the memory of her little girl, Adalyn, who was born with a serious birth defect and died on March 25, 2017.

The 25-year-old mum, of Havant, believes she may have lost the treasured trinket while walking her oldest son, Leo, six, to school.

Carer Ellie, of Leckford Road, said: ‘This pendant means the world to me. It’s invaluable to anybody else but to me it has so much sentimental value. It’s absolutely everything.

‘I’ve desperately tried to retrace my steps but I can’t find it anywhere. It’s horrible.’

Ellie’s route saw her walking the short distance from her home to Sharp Copse Primary School, heading down Longstock Road and Prospect Lane before arriving at the school in Baybridge Road at about 8.30am.

Ellie then visited her mum, Lisa, in Prospect Lane, before later heading to McDonald’s in Larchwood Avenue, in Bedhampton. She realised her pendant had slipped off its chain at about 10.30am, she added.

Tearful, Ellie turned to Facebook in a desperate cry for help – a plea which has since gone viral, being shared more than 5,100 times in the space of 24 hours.

Ellie, who lives with her fiance George Kelleher, and boys Leo and Harlow, one, added: ‘I can’t believe how many people have shared it. I didn’t even think that many people lived around here. It’s amazing.’

Baby Adalyn was diagnosed with anencephaly, a life-limiting condition where an infant’s brain and spinal cord don’t develop properly.

The serious defect affects one in 2,000 children and sees babies born without parts of the brain and skull.

‘The condition was picked up during a routine scan,’ said Ellie. ‘Doctors were doing measurements and said that things just weren’t adding up.’

Ellie’s labour was eventually induced by medics at Queen Alexandra Hospital, in Cosham, in the hope they could save Adalyn.

‘She sadly didn’t survive,’ said Ellie, who had previously suffered a miscarriage. ‘I was holding onto this and expecting it to be a happy time but it wasn’t. It was earth shattering. It was an awful time.’

Anyone who finds Ellie’s pendant is urged to contact our newsroom on 023 9262 2137 or by emailing [email protected]