Haley Osmond, 11, smiles at her mother, Rachel Osmond, after getting one of her hearing aids back. (CBC)The person who stole two hearing aids belonging to an Edmonton girl returned one of them Monday through an anonymous drop-off at a north end shopping centre.

"I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or be sick," said Rachel Osmond, mother of Haley, 11. "Absolutely flabbergasted."

The two hearing aids, worth more than $20,000, were taken during a break-in at the family's home in Clareview last week. The devices were in the girl's backpack, which Osmond believes the thief took to carry her son's Xbox out of the house.

After the family talked to the media about the theft, police received an anonymous phone call from a man around 3 p.m. Monday who said he heard about the story on the news.

The caller then directed them to look for a black garbage bag under a set of stairs just outside Londonderry Mall.

"Shows that this guy at least has some conscience to him," said Const. Jeff Benedict from Edmonton police.

Only one of the devices was retrieved from the garbage bag, along with the Xbox and the backpack. Police believe the other hearing aid may have fallen out during the theft.

"I'm happy to have what I have," Rachel Osmond said. "It's way more than what I did have. We had two. One as a spare and then one as her full-time one."

Police are trying to track down the caller and checking to see if the thief left any fingerprints on the bag and the Xbox.