Holly Springs boy's lost camera returns through social media
HOLLY SPRINGS, NC (WTVD) -- For 10-year old Lawson Bley of Holly Springs, it was the worst ending ever to his family's July vacation on the South Carolina coast.
"Really sad and disappointed we couldn't find it," he recalled.
Lawson and his mom Carrie were out on the ocean on Edisto Beach using his camera to get underwater shots of Lawson boogie boarding.
"We got him a waterproof, shockproof camera so that nothing would ever happen to it and then I'm the one who dropped it," said Carrie.
The wrist strap slipped off Carrie's hand and Lawson's camera disappeared into the waves. Pictures of his family, his friends, and his class field trip were all gone.
"They're probably the most special moments of my entire life," said Lawson.
"I just went out to the road and cried in private and came back and told him we'd get him a new one and that mommies can make mistakes too," said Carry.
"I thought it would never be found at all. Thought it would be lost at sea forever," said Lawson.
But lost forever turned into only two months. Last week, Sean Kerr's family stumbled upon Lawson's camera on the same beach. It was waterlogged and broken, but the memory card was still inside with all 1,800 photos.
"I was thinking if it were my camera, I'd at least want the memory card back, so I jumped on social media," said Sean.
Within hours, Sean's Facebook post about the missing camera his family found - and his wish to return it to the owners - went viral. The post was shared over 47,000 times.
It wasn't long before the Bley's phone in Holly Springs started ringing with friends and neighbors alerting them that Lawson's camera was found.
"I am shocked beyond belief, because it wasn't just one or two of our friends," said Carrie.
"It was every single one," said Lawson.
Sean is now sending Lawson's camera back to the Bleys. They are extremely grateful and half-jokingly plan to put the waterlogged camera into the family display case as a testament to human kindness and to the fact that mommies make mistakes.
