Retriving lost photos

EXCELLENT NEWS Thank you both SO much!!! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Hi, good news — you usually don't need to import them again, and you don't have to lose your edits.

Your edits are stored in the Lightroom Classic catalog, not in the photo files themselves. So if the photos still appear in the catalog with a "Photo is missing" (!) icon, you can simply relink them:

1. First, copy the files from the memory card back onto your computer — ideally into the exact folder they were in before, with the same filenames. Don't work directly from the card.

2. In the Library module, choose Library > Find All Missing Photos.

3. Click the ! icon on a thumbnail, click Locate, navigate to the copy you just restored, and choose Select. Tick "Find nearby missing photos" so Lightroom reconnects the other missing photos in that folder too.

4. If a whole folder is missing (a ? on the folder in the Folders panel), right-click (Windows) / Control-click (macOS) the folder and choose Find Missing Folder instead.

You would only lose the edits if the photos had also been removed from the catalog and were imported completely fresh.

Adobe's guide walks through the same steps: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/desktop/manage-catalogs-and-files/locate-missing-photos.html

Let us know how you get on!