Now THIS is an incredible story!
Nicholas Simmons was missing. Maybe not to himself, but to his parents — he disappeared from his parents’ house in upstate New York on New Year’s Day. It was a small town and his wallet, cellphone, and other possessions were left behind.
Fast forward four days, and nobody had seen or heard from Nicholas. Someone DID see him though, and that was an AP photographer who was just looking for a way to show how daaaamn cold it was outside!
So she took Nicholas’s picture (above) as he warmed himself on a steam grate a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The photographer had no idea who the 20 year old was.
Nicholas’s parents, Paul and Michelle, then saw the photo in USA Today Sunday! It was posted to a Facebook page they set up to help them find their son!
That AP photographer, Jacquelyn Martin, was only in the area to shoot White House stuff, but Obama was still on vacay in Hawaii (thanks, Obama!). Here’s what she said when she shifted focus to capturing how cold it was:
“It struck me how young he was. I again introduced myself and shook his hand. He said his name was Nick.”
After sending out the photo, Jacquelyn then got a twitter message from USA Today, explaining that Nick’s family had recognized him and was trying to find him!
Luckily, he didn’t go far — the police were able to pick up Nick and take him to a hospital, where Nick’s father, Paul, and older brother Paul Jr. were able to go see him!
Jacquelyn continued:
“It’s really gratifying to see that a photograph can make a tangible difference in someone’s life. That’s a really amazing thing to have happened. I’m happy and touched that the photograph could help reunite this family.”
What amazing luck!
We’d still like to know what happened between disappearing and when his photo was taken — it sounds perfect for a movie!
We hope he and everything else is okay!
[Image via AP Images.]