SANIBEL (FOX 13) - A family took a vacation in Florida back in 2012 but lost their camera and the 170 photos saved on its card.
They likely considered it - and the captured memories - gone, but during a recent trip to Sanibel Island, a photographer from Illinois found the camera and is now looking for its rightful owners.
Photographer Josh Zuelke says he was walking along the beach and saw the little camera, covered in muck and barnacles, and assumed it was a lost cause. He took the camera home anyway and somehow managed to retrieve the stock of photos from the camera's memory card.
The photos tell the story of a couple of very happy families enjoying the fun in the Florida sun. Three young girls, a little boy, and two sets of parents are photographed snorkeling, tubing behind a boat, and enjoying meals, waterslides, and excursions.
The pictures are time stamped July 7-8, 2012. The girls and boy are likely much taller today and hopefully, have social media accounts to lead them back to these saved memories.
The photos leave few clues into who the families may be. In a few photos, one of the girls wears a blue, Special Olympics Colorado, "Be a Fan" t-shirt. Another photo is of a man and young girl standing in front of a Snook's Bayside sign. The restaurant is about 312 highway miles away from Sanibel Island - not to mention across the state.
In one photo, the little boy is wearing a hat that says "Pennekamp Park," meaning the family likely went snorkeling at Sundiver Snorkel Tours at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.
Finally, the pool which appears in several photos appears to be at the Holiday Inn Key Largo on Overseas Highway.
Zuelke says the camera was badly damaged, but he assumes the family will be happy to have just the photos.
He hopes to locate them by sharing their photos on social media. His post about the photos has been shared thousands of times on Facebook alone.
To view Zuelke's photography, visit https://www.facebook.com/joshzphotography/.