Didn't happen to me. 2 of my friends explored Australia by foot during their gap years. While one of them is a bit well known for badly remembering things, I trust the other one.

They flew thousnads of kilometers to the othe rend of the world with very little. But one of them carried a camera. This camera had everything on it, it recorded their entire time together and as much meant much to them.

During the end of their stay (one left for his girlfriend in another country), they took the camera to the beach. And lost it in the waves.

They paniced. The camera recorded everything and they didn't carry a laptop. No backups, no nothing. The camera is gone and all they would be left with are some cellphone photos.

As such they desperately look for it. Spend 1h+ in the water, try to predict where it could have gone to etc. Until, at some point they quit.

They walk home and a few hundred metres away from their original spot, the one just stops and says they should look for it at that spot. They go to the water, grab into the waves and find the camera. Instantly. And it is undamaged.

This was a very important part of their lifes and had they done anything differently, searched a bit longer, took another route, went to a different spot; they wouldn't have those pictures now. It means very much to them.