file retrieval

is there a way, to find out what files were deleted by a certain user (that left the company) ? Case is, user deleted some files from the shared folder on the server, that we need, but we do not know the exact location or name, so cannot use the backup. Server is 2000, wkstn. is Xp, files are Excel 2000.
Any ideas how to start on this ? Is there a more detailed history for “Recent documents”, like more than the 10 or so files showing up on the Start Menu ?