When Kevin Duke bought his daughter Jada a car for her 16th birthday, he went through every nook and cranny of it to make sure it was safe enough for his baby girl. As he meticulously went through the silver Ford Fusion, he was stunned to find a letter in the glove compartment that was left by the previous owner.

Kevin had already opened the compartment six times during previous inspections, so he was stunned that he hadn’t found the note earlier.

“Well, yesterday I’m in it tinkering around and I open this storage compartment on top of the dash (which I’ve opened a half dozen times already),” Kevin wrote on Facebook. “This time I notice a rubber mat in the bottom of it and for whatever reason, I pull it out.”

When Kevin opened the envelope, he was shocked by what he saw. Inside was a letter written by the daughter of the previous owner, who said that the car had a very special place in her heart. She explained that she lost her mother, her aunt, and her six-year-old daughter recently in a house fire, and the high costs of the funerals caused her to have to sell the beloved car. In the letter, she told the new owner to cherish the vehicle, and expressed hopes that more family memories would be created inside it in the coming years.

Here’s the full letter:

To the person that gets this car,

I just wanted to let you know what a special vehicle you’ve bought. This car belonged to my mom. She passed away February 25, 2015 in a house fire along with my 6-year-old daughter and my aunt.

The last time my mom drove this car was the day she left us. Her and my daughter went out shopping and got their hair cut.

This car holds a lot of special memories for me. My home and everything in it is gone, this car is all that I had left to touch. There was a mix up with paperwork and that’s caused the car to not be paid off by insurance. It’s very upsetting that I have lost my family, my home and now I’m losing this last link I have with my mom and child through no fault of my own.

I’m not mad at you. I hope this car is the best car you’ve ever owned. I hope it runs for 100 more years. I hope the backseat is filled with kids and toys and random things. My family filled this car with lots of love and other sticky things. We took road trips, blared 80’s and country music and rolled the windows down. I’ve changed more diapers in the backseat than I can count. There’s probably a sucker stick or a crayon hidden somewhere that belonged to my baby. Maybe an entire chicken nugget. HA!

I don’t know if you’ll see it but there may be a dirty spot on the dash. My daughter and I would pretend to go on adventures while we sat in the driveway and she always put her feet there. The dent on the rear driver’s side fender and the dent in the passenger side door are where my daughter learned to ride… and crash… her bike a few months before her death.

I know it’s just a car to you, but to me it’s so much more. Life happened in this car. Love, joy and adventure was had in this car.

So now that it’s yours, please remember it isn’t just a car. It’s a memory. This car with all its quirks is the last piece of my family. Be nice to it. Play it a country song. Big Green Tractor was my daughter’s favorite song ever, or some Lynyrd Skynyrd Freedbird. That song meant so much to us that I played it at their funerals.

You’re riding with angels. My angels. Talk to them if you like, I’m sure they’d like to see and hear about any new adventures you take in this car.

By the way, her name is Sylvia. The very first day mom got this car, we all rode around and Dr. Hook’s Sylvia’s Mother came on the radio. The name kind of just stuck when my daughter said that’s what we should name the car. So please don’t change her name.

If you ever want to sell Sylvia, please try to find me. I just paid for 3 funerals, I can’t afford to buy it right now, but hopefully, I’ll be in a better financial situation if you decide later that she’s just not right for you anymore.

Be blessed, be happy, live and love like we did.

I wish you, and Sylvia, the best!

Kevin was so touched by the letter that he posted it to Facebook, where it quickly went viral and caught the attention of a woman named Tammi Warrington.

“It devastated me on her behalf. She has got to have this car back,” she said.

Kevin and Tammi ended up teaming up to try and find the letter’s writer so that they could give her the car back. Once they found her, they set up a YouCaring (now GoFundMe) to raise money to buy Jada a different car so they could return “Sylvia” to her owner, Sabrina Archey. They were then contacted by TLC with an opportunity to appear on the show “This Is Life Live.”

Finally, Kevin was able to hand Sylvia back to Sabrina!

Jada ended up with another silver Ford Fusion, which she named Sylvia2.

We’re so glad that Sylvia1 is back where she belongs!