Please help. Lost master key to 2002 Estima Hybrid :(

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Hello everyone,

First post, been a long time lurker here, and member over at TEOC.ws, but I figured it was time to create an account here too and see if anyone has been in our predicament. I'll start with a truncated version of my TEOC post from June 3, the day after this happened, to give it some context:

ORIGINAL POST - June 3, 2017, 4PM PST:

My wife and I have two young kids and took the ferry over to Vancouver Island for a family wedding. Friday night we went for dinner with both of them and another couple. In the hustle and bustle when we left the restaurant, on a busy Friday evening, trying to keep the kids from running into the street, and stopping to tie one of their shoes on a crowded sidewalk with both our hands full of stuff—well, you get the idea. Somewhere along the walk, the keys got put down (not dropped, or we would have heard them) and when we retraced our steps, they were gone.

I'd hoped some good citizen would have given them to a doorman at one of the many busy bars in the area, but nothing was turned in. Talked to the police, the only thing dropped off at the department was a wallet. I can only assume someone grabbed them intending to try the remote unlock to see what they could steal, or maybe it was some kid, who doesn't realize what he picked up. 

What was picked up is the only three-button RFID transmitter key (Toyota Part #89070-28290, I think?) in existence on this continent for our van. I bought the vehicle a month ago from a dealer who led me to believe they would be receiving another key for it from Japan in the few weeks following our purchase. This was not the case; as the manager just informed me, the wholesaler only ever had one key for this vehicle. We feel lied to and angry that we didn't think to look up this information ourselves.

In the month we've owned it, I'd tried to get the key copied but our local key cutter did not have these in stock. Our family trip arrived before we could find/order an alternative. And we didn't know/weren't told by the dealer that these keys are literally worth their weight in gold if you only have one.

We are desperate to try anything. I dug through trash cans along the route before giving up and getting it towed to the hotel (using dollies of course since it's an AWD hybrid). The key is somewhere on Vancouver Island, and is the van's only way off it at the moment.

UPDATE #1 - June 6, 2017, 10PM PST:

No word yet, still hoping/praying someone will find it and return it.

In the event that doesn't happen, I've been scouring the internet looking for any and all information about how to reprogram a new master key without the existing master key. I've done a pile of research in the four days since this happened, having barely slept, and I think I have boiled our options down to two potential solutions that don't involve scrapping the car.

Has anyone out there ever done anything like either of the below?

Potential Solution #1

Physical Key:

1. No matter what, we need to order a replacement 3-button key either from Toyota Japan, or eBay if we can find the exact model. We'll need one regardless of whether or not we find the lost key, since the first thing we'd do with that is clone it!
2. We take the door panel off and find the key code on the door cylinder (assuming it exists and that's where to find it)
3. Once we receive the replacement key from eBay or Japan or wherever, we source a few non-RFID blank keys with the same profile, for the locksmith to practice on, and also to create a replacement manual key for if we get locked out somehow.
4. Locksmith will create a new key from the cylinder code on one of the non-RFID blanks. Once we're sure it opens the doors and turns the ignition, we get him to cut the RFID blank to match that.

Immobilizer transponder replacement/programming of new RFID key:

1. According to a mechanic I spoke to in NZ, if we replace the immobilizer transponder we should be able to program the new key to match it, which would then send a "correct" message to the ECU, allowing the car to start. This assumes the key codes are stored only in the immobilizer ECU and not in the engine ECU.
2. Replacing the transponder requires removal of the dash as far as I can tell. Has anyone ever done this? I can't find any resources on how to remove the dash on a MK2, or even if I need to, since the immobilizer appears to be located quite a bit lower in the dash behind the storage compartment and between the footwells.

Anyway, we have to find answers to the following questions before we start:

1. Is there even a key code on the door lock cylinder that will allow us to create a new physical key for both it and the ignition?
2. Is replacing the immobilizer transponder and cutting/programming a new RFID key all that is required to defeat the immobilizer? 
3. Is there any chance that the key codes are stored in the engine ECU as well as in the immobilizer transponder?
4. If it turns out that ONLY a transponder and new key are what's needed, what is the procedure to install and program them?
5. It's my understanding that replacing the transponder involves a 30-minute handshake procedure between the new transponder and the ECU, and that this involves shorting the pins on the OBD connector. if so, which ones? 
6. Is the fact that this vehicle is M-OBD and not OBDII compliant going to be a problem?
7. Will programming this new key allow us to unlock the doors remotely and use the power slider, or does this only allow us to manually unlock + start the car?
8. Will the cut-but-not-yet-programmed key allow us to close the windows, so that we can enter programming mode?

Solution #2:

Similar to Solution #1, except we don't order a new immo transponder. Instead we pull the old one, hire a skilled programmer to connect directly to the EEPROM chip that stores the key data, zero the key values out, and reinstall the now-virginized transponder as if it's a new one. This raises the same questions as above, assuming it even works at all after we mess with the memory. I've see this done on a Camry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRz2b1S2PGk&t=6s) but not on a JDM Estima Hybrid.

If anyone can provide clear, precise answers to the above eight questions, we will start down this perilous path.

Thanks,

John and Maria
Surrey, BC
Canada

604-616-8384