'Please, please give it back to me': Desperate search as dry cleaner donates wedding dress

Not a runaway bride – but a runaway dress.

As many brides do, Gold Coast local Peggy Worrell entrusted her precious wedding gown, gifted to her by her late mother, with her local dry cleaners for a routine spruce-up.

But in a devastating mix-up, the dress was later donated by the business – and sold in an op shop. Now, Worrell is appealing to the public to find and return her beloved memento.

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Speaking to Today Show hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo, Worrell reflected on how this nondescript dry-clean could have gone so wrong.

She revealed details of the incident had been murky for months and that, to this day, she is still not certain how the dry cleaners had managed to "give away" the dress she'd hired them to clean.

"There was a storage dispute that the dry cleaners were having with a contractor possibly, we're not too sure." She recalled.

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"They told me my dress was safe, and they had just put it in storage because they were moving facilities and that I would have it back soon."

Six months passed without any further updates from the business, as Morrell grew steadily more anxious – and angry – about the lack of communication surrounding her sentimental keepsake.

It was only after engaging a lawyer that she received the news no bride wants to hear; somehow, at some point, her priceless dress had gone the way of the donation bin.

"We still don't know how, or who, whether it was a staff member or whatever happened, but apparently it was accidentally donated."

Desperate to find the misplaced gown, Worrell then turned to the power of online Facebook community groups, offering a $1000 award for the dress' safe return.

This yielded a quick flash of hope for Worrell, as she was given a promising lead on the gown's whereabouts.

"I got a call on Monday at 10am from someone who saw my post, and they said, 'I've seen your dress, I know where it is! I was so excited.'"

But her hopes were quickly dashed, as she beelined for the Op Shop in question – only to find that the dress gifted to her by her late mother had been sold instore for just $80.

"It was a gift from my mum, it holds a whole lot of memories for me, but it was also something I was hoping to keep for my daughter, who's now 11."

"She used to play with my dress, and wear my veil and run around the house."

Worrell concluded by issuing an urgent plea to Aussies, saying "if you have my dress, please, please give it back to me. I'm offering the reward, and I'm desperate for it back."

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