We modelers all have lost parts, so you're not alone. If you're new to modeling (I noticed you joined us just a few months ago and you only have 20 posts), you'll hear us constantly joke about the "Carpet Monster." That's a horrible creature that looks so innocent lying on the living room or bedroom floor, but once a small part such as a photoetched throttle quadrant, instrument panel switch or once in my case, a 1/24-scale microphone for a CB radio gets launched into the air by a pair of tweezers, that carpet monster is ready and hungry and the part goes down the hatch, never to be seen again.
By the way, what part of southern California are you from?