MANILA, Philippines — Actress and cosplayer Myrtle Sarrosa and Indonesian guest cosplayer Nekonoi Katsu have reported losing their phones during ToyCon Philippines, raising concerns that guests and featured artists may have been specifically targeted by thieves at the event.
Sarrosa revealed in a social media post that her phone went missing while she was meeting fans and participating in activities at the convention held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
The actress said she only realized the device was gone around 5 p.m. after spending much of the day interacting with attendees.
After reporting the incident to event staff, Sarrosa said her team proceeded to the SMX concierge, where several other attendees were already reporting lost items.
Using tracking features activated with the help of her brother, Sarrosa said her phone was traced to the Commonwealth area in Quezon City.
"My dad, who had literally just gotten out of the hospital, got into the car to help me look for it," she wrote.
Still dressed in her cosplay costume, Sarrosa and her family traveled from the Mall of Asia complex to Ever Gotesco Commonwealth, where the phone's location had been detected.
She said they attempted to call the device and at one point someone answered before immediately ending the call.
"A few minutes later, the phone started moving. So we got into the car and chased it," she said.
Sarrosa recounted following the signal for more than an hour through Commonwealth, Fairview and Mindanao Avenue, at times coming within just a few vehicles of the person carrying the phone.
The chase eventually led them back to Ever Gotesco Commonwealth, where they sought assistance from mall security personnel.
However, before the phone could be recovered, the person in possession of it allegedly turned the device off.
"As we used the ring feature ... the person turned the phone off. The location froze. The tracker stopped moving. The phone suddenly went offline," she said.
Sarrosa said the loss was particularly devastating because the device contained years of personal memories and work-related files, including photos and videos she had not yet backed up.
The actress shared that recent family difficulties, including the death of her grandmother and her father's hospitalization, had prevented her from organizing and backing up hundreds of gigabytes of content.
Among the files stored on the device were some of her final memories with her grandmother.
Prior to the latest developments, Sarrosa publicly appealed for the phone's return and offered a P30,000 reward.
"Hindi po ako galit (I’m not angry. Honestly, I completely understand that people go through different circumstances in life," she wrote in an earlier post.
She added that her primary concern was recovering valuable content, business contacts, gameplay recordings, cosplay footage and years of memories stored on the device.
However, Sarrosa later claimed that communication with the person currently holding the phone suggests the matter may have evolved beyond a simple effort to return it.
"The person doesn't want the P30,000 reward anymore ... they are asking for more," she wrote.
"But let's just say ... it doesn't feel like the goal is simply returning the phone anymore. Right now, it feels like the goal is to get more money."
Sarrosa also called attention to a similar incident involving Indonesian cosplayer Nekonoi Katsu, who reported losing her phone while setting up her booth at the convention.
In a social media post, Katsu said she believes thieves may have been targeting guests and international attendees.
"It's believed the thief is targeting guest and international guest," Katsu wrote.
She added that her phone's last known location appeared to match the area where Sarrosa's device had been tracked.
"I manage to track it and it is stay in the same position as @myrtlegail lost phone," she said.
Katsu said she had already filed a police report and was awaiting access to CCTV footage from the venue.
"My 8 years file of memory is in there," she wrote.
Reacting to the post, Sarrosa expressed concern that guest artists and convention personalities may have been singled out.
"Omg! This is so heartbreaking. I was hoping no one else would suffer today from theft but siguro nga they're really specifically targeting guest artists," she wrote.
The incidents have also fueled criticism from some attendees regarding crowd management and security at the venue.
Thousands of people reportedly converged at the SMX Convention Center on June 13 as ToyCon coincided with an oath-taking ceremony for newly licensed professional teachers.
Some attendees pointed to the heavy foot traffic as a possible factor in the reported thefts.
Cosplayer Anna Frio was among those who voiced frustration online, questioning the decision to hold multiple large-scale events simultaneously at the venue.
"LPT teachers actually should've been accommodated well! They deserve to be treated better kasi it's their moment with their guardians. It's just really saddening," she wrote.
As of posting, ToyCon organizers had yet to issue a public statement regarding the reported thefts or the concerns raised by attendees and guests.