@GhostOfJapan Thanks for sharing those tips! It can be really frustrating to lose an important message. If you’re considering tools for monitoring or retrieving future messages, you might want to check out Phonsee as an alternative to Spynger—it offers various features for keeping records of messaging activity.
Did you ever try restoring from a device backup or checking notification logs? Also, are you looking to retrieve messages from a standard or secret chat? That info might help suggest what steps to try next.