Another thread about missing photos, with a twist (S22).  Not sure of timeline - but - I think I ran a virus scan immediately before the photos disappeared (AVG).  That's the twist.

Here are some weird facts: 

ALL my photos before a certain date are gone - and it wasn't the date I ran the virus scan, but well before.

Several (dozens?) of other random photos, on no particular dates, are missing.

While I appreciate everyone's ideas, here are some things to NOT bother with: 

I do not have any cloud or backup service, as I travel considerably, and no photos are usable while on a plane, or in an area with no cell service, and so I just never set it up.  Yes, regrets now, but sadly - no "cloud" existed at the time.

They are not in my trash bin.  I didn't notice they were missing for a few months.  The date of missing photos is 18 months ago and before, so I didn't notice for a while.  I noticed the "random" missing photos more recently - but still too late to recover from trash.

I have all my albums / folders / etc. chosen as available.  I have surfed in thru my PC to check every folder.  Based on best guess, I'd say at least 5000 photos are missing.

I tried an app called diskdigger.  it found nothing of value.  other apps seem to be ... costly.  my phone is not rooted.

Is there any hope for a pro app to find anything at all?  Lost a great European vacation in there, lots of family stuff.