Oh my golly! Is this story for real? I mean, really? 10,000 Bitcoins and the only storage is a mere USB. What the hell was he thinking about? Anyway, to be serious about it, if indeed the experience shared here is true, there should be several backups. One single USB carrying 10,000 Bitcoins is really negligence or even bordering on extreme lax on your friend's part. Everyone should try to learn a lesson or two from this case.