Dear Sir,

We are long-time visitors to Bermuda and have good friends and “family” here. We arrived last week and checked into our cottage on Needle & Thread Alley — also known as Turkey Hill Lane — in St George’s.

As we had to ferry our luggage from the taxi up a long lane, we didn’t realise it at the time, but our passports apparently fell out of my backpack during the transfer process.

The passport holders did contain some of our travelling cash. We did not discover them missing until quite late that evening.

The purpose of my writing is to commend the people of Bermuda. We want you to know that we are overwhelmed at how kind everyone has been. Our taxi driver was outstanding in getting us settled. Folks in town, along with friends, came out that evening with flashlights to help us look for them.

People who don’t even know us have extended a helping hand. People have called and stopped by to check on us. Our host has been very accommodating. Others have put the word out and have gone looking on other nearby streets.

Absolutely phenomenal. Naturally, we have contacted the police. The young desk officer and other ladies on duty in Hamilton were terrific.

We have also notified the US Consulate. The Consulate did want us to wait a few days to see if they would be turned in.

We are fortunate in that we are here until the end of the month and have a bit of time to get it sorted.

My husband and I can in all honesty say that if they were going to be turned in anywhere, it would be here in Bermuda.

We couldn’t be in this situation, as unfortunate as it is, in a better place. We are still hopeful that they will be found, whether with or without the cash, as it is an expensive process to replace them, which we will have to do soon.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the people of Bermuda, our friends and the folks in St George’s for being so kind, caring and considerate during our time of absolute panic. Only in Bermuda will you find such gracious folk.

CORINNE and STEVE WHITE

North Hampton, New Hampshire