I have a similar issue. Over a decade ago I had a bike, a family thing, that was stolen. i can’t drive nor afford a car and it was both an emotional loss and a serious inconvenience. I was walking down the street and saw a bike that looked like mine. I had been on the lookout for a feature of it that I thought was very unusual. I saw the bike and left a note in the basket with a belligerent message and my number. A woman called and said it wasn’t stolen, and my temper back then was stronger than my thinking, so I took offense at her tone rather than thinking about the possibility she was right. I argued with her, threatened her, and raged for days, maybe weeks about it. I got my boyfriend involved. I daydreamed abut beating her viciously because she talked as if she thought she was better than me. I raged at her whining about how she needed it as if I didn’t. She finally met me and gve it to me and I realized it wasn’t mine slowly. She hadn’t given me her number or address, but if she had I probably would never have had the courage to admit my mistake, in that time of my life. Some time after becoming a Christian I left it out for the poor. Some ears later I worked up the nerve to leave a leter of confession with the whole story on it addressed to her on a public bulletin board (a real one). I have no reason to assume she read the note but I tried.
I guess I’m absolved; the priest who heard my first confession didn’t mention restitution. Perhaps the intent to make it good given the opportunity is all you need?
Please help!