Help! Lost hoe & watering can

Hey all,

So I finally got my partner to play sdv and he's been really into it. Today however, he (for reasons that don't matter) put a chest outside of the saloon and placed a few things inside, including the hoe and watering can. He meant to take everything out when leaving the saloon but he forgot. He played a few in game days (it's winter) before remembering, and of course the chest and items are gone. Yes, I did warn him to not place anything in NPC walking paths, but mistakes happen.

Is his game essentially over? Is there a way to get a new how and watering can? They're not in lost and found, and he hasn't activated the item recovery service yet at the adventurers guild. He's ready to never play again as he just finished the community center and doesn't want to start over, so I'm trying to find a solution to prevent that. Any options?