Thanks to the power of Facebook, a flash drive containing dozens of priceless family photos that was mistakenly donated to a Goodwill in Wisconsin has been returned to its owners.
According to ABC News, Molly Szymkowski, of Waterloo, went shopping at a Goodwill store last week and bought a colored box for $2.99.
"I was looking for a box to put some of my stuff in that I had gotten at a retreat," Szymkowski said. "I found a blue box that I thought would be simple and safe."
When Szymkowski got home from Goodwill, where she also works, she finally opened up her new trinket, where she discovered something surprising: a flash drive.
Szymkowski immediately plugged the flash drive into her computer and saw dozens of photos that looked like they were likely taken at a family party.
Soon, Szymkowski made it her mission to return the flash drive to its owner, knowing nobody meant to donate their family photos.
To get the word out, Szymkowski reportedly posted a small number of the photos on Facebook.
"I think within 10 minutes I had people responding that they might know the people," she told ABC News. "Somebody commented on the post, 'Facebook is faster than the FBI.'"
Eventually, Szymkowski reportedly found a husband and wife on Facebook who could help her and sent them a message.
When they did not reply, however, Szymkowski went above and beyond and sent a third message to the woman she believed to be the couple’s daughter.
"She replied and then we spoke on the phone that same day," Szymkowski said of the woman, Heidi Staats. "She was shocked, but she was relieved and kind of surprised how great Facebook works."
Staats was reportedly traveling for work when she got Szymkowski’s message, which included one of the photos from the missing flash drive.
"I recognized it to be my dad and his wife’s Christmas card," Staats said of the photo. "I told her I was certain it was accidental that [the flash drive] got in there."
Neither Staats nor the rest of her family have any idea how the box with the flash drive inside got donated in the first place.
"Sometimes our dad will bring us a drive with pictures on it, so I’m not sure if he handed it off to us and then one of us finally got rid of something and it was in there," she said. "I do recognize the box and I know it came from a holiday."
Now that the priceless family photos have been returned, Szymkowski has been thanked by Staats and her family, as well as Goodwill.
"As a community-based organization, it’s our local donors and shoppers who help us provide services to area individuals," a Goodwill spokeswoman said in a statement. "That community spirit is just amplified when you see people like Molly who are willing to reach out make sure the generosity of a neighbor didn’t turn into a loss."
