P.E.I. boy, social media help reunite N.S. family with lost photos

A year's worth of photos a Nova Scotia family believed they'd never see again will soon be returned thanks to the power of social media and the family behind a popular Cavendish, P.E.I., amusement park.

The pit that was once the paddleboat pond at theShining Waters Family Fun Park has now been dried out, making room for a new roller-coaster.Matthew Jelley, the park's president,says emptying the pond has been an adventure.

"My son had said from the start, he couldn't wait to get to the bottom to explore what might be there," said Jelley.

Pictures in submerged camera survive

9 years ago

Duration 1:26

Pictures in a camera submerged at the bottom of a pond at Shining Waters amusement park in Cavendish, P.E.I., for more than a year were returned to their owners thanks to a boy, his mom and social media."He found some coins, found a wallet that had been completely disintegrated, but was also able to find a camera."

Although the pond clearly got the best of the camera, Jelley's wife Tracey decided to give the memory card a try.

"Much to everybody's surprise, the memory card was still intact and was actually able to be read. So my wife was able to put it up on Facebook," said Jelley.

A year's worth of pictures

She posted a photo of two children from the memory card, not knowing it belonged to Jodi Moore and her family.

Moore, who lives in Masstown, Nova Scotia, was on a family outing at Shining Waters in August 2014 when she noticed her camera missing shortly after a paddleboat ride.

"I'm not very diligent in taking my photos off, so I probably had over a year of pictures. So that would have been Christmas, kids' birthdays, different events. Just very frustrated and upset that I lost all those memories."

'I just can't believe the power of social media'

But, on Sunday, Tracey Jelley posted the picture on Facebook. Not long after the post had been shared 800 times.

And, within a couple of hours, "afriend of mine sent me a message through Facebook and said, 'You have to check out this posting. It looks like a pic of your kids," said Moore. "As soon I started reading the link, I didn't even have to look at the picture. I was pretty sure it was my camera."

The memory card is now on its way from P.E.I. to Nova Scotia through the mail.

Jelley says it's all thanks to his son's discovery, his wife's determination and the help of hundreds of people on Facebook.

"Particularly with the spirit of the Maritime community, of sharing and working together to find that, a lot of people out there realize the investment they have in their memories and pictures."

Moore's thoughts on the situation?

"It's crazy. I guess I just can't believe the power of social media, how quickly they found me. I'm just really excited to get those memories back."