The family of former All Black Bernie Fraser have recovered a treasure trove of lost memorabilia, after their Wellington storage unit was sold without their knowledge.
Daughter Brooke Fraser said the person who bought the unit and the items inside contacted the family, demanding money and police are now involved.
Brooke Fraser - a leading singer/songwriter - said the personal property was of "great sentimental value", with items including rugby memorabilia, childhood photos, homemade videos and art.
"We only became aware of the sale of this unit when an anonymous person, concealing their identity, contacted us with a photograph of some of the personal items they had come into possession of," she wrote on Facebook.
"It took our family some time to piece together what had happened and - needless to say - our dad is distraught.
"[Then] over the course of days this person continued to significantly raise their price, before abruptly announcing they had sold it all to another party.
"We are relieved that later they anonymously returned a small box of our family photographs and video cassettes to the storage facility - items that would have been lost forever, had they not done so.
"While we remain extremely grateful to have these photographs and videos back, we are grieved at the loss of the entirety of the rest of the unit and the only memorabilia dad retained of his sporting legacy.
"The reason we have made the decision to release this statement is in the hope that there is even the slightest chance of recovering ANY of these precious family items."
Brooke Fraser pleaded with the public to contact her if they discovered any vintage Wellington Rugby or All Blacks memorabilia, including trophies and plaques, on online marketplaces.
But later Thursday, she posted on Reddit, thanking those that had helped recover the property.
"Major items have been located," she wrote. "Thank you to everyone who shared the post and expressed sympathy and concern.
"We are so thankful to the kind and good person who bought the goods from the seller and immediately contacted us."
Born in Fiji, Bernie Fraser made 55 appearances, including 23 tests, for the All Blacks from 1979-84 and was a key part in the Wellington side that held the Ranfurly Shield in the early 1980s.
Fraser played 124 games for his province, scoring 105 tries.
Brooke Fraser has had considerable success as a singer/songwriter in both Australia and New Zealand, and is part of the Christian band Hillsong.
