(Image source from: azfamily.com)

A family on their way to Mexico said their car was broken into in the suburbs of Avondale. All of their vacation items were stolen, but something else a little more precious was also taken.

"The handle and lock were completely broken," said Chelsea Wilkes. "They had just smashed the lock and gotten in through that."

Wilkes said her family vacation to Mexico did not start on a good note after they stopped at an Avondale Homewood Suites hotel to rest.

"We feel so violated by what happened and distrusting of people," Wilkes said.

They say they called police after their black Excursion was broken into overnight Friday. And her laptop, a gray MacBook Pro with a Lilo and Stitch sticker on it, was stolen.

"I don't have backup computers. I don't keep things on CDs much anymore," Wilkes said.

She said the laptop was under the driver's seat and it contained some of the last pictures she has of her mom.

"I lost my mom in 2015 when I was 18 years old," Wilkes said. "It was very sudden. It was a car accident."

Wilkes, who lives in California, posted on Twitter and was overwhelmed with the response.

"It actually kind of blew up a little bit, more than I expected," Wilkes said. "The response has been so kind for the most part."

She's hoping 3,000 re tweets will get her laptop - and those precious memories - back.

"The response has been so kind, and for every bad person, the tweet blowing up so much has made me realize for every bad person there's (sic) 100 good people," Wilkes said. "One hundred kind people who are willing to help, willing to console."

By Lokesh