Sleuthing power of social media help to recover holiday photos

By Lina Giannarou

We take it for granted ? it?s at our fingertips, constantly on our minds, a part of our lives ? but whenever the Internet decides to reveal another small piece of its magic, we are still amazed.

As Alex put it in a simple post on Facebook last week: ?Thanks to all. The Internet did the trick.? And it does, indeed, have a few great tricks up its sleeve.

Alex Pitropakis?s first post was at 10.30 on a Sunday morning in June, when he uploaded what appeared to be a selfie of a woman and her son with the Acropolis in the background. The written message said: ?I have found the camera of this mother and her son taken in Acropolis #Athens. I believe they are from #NYC based on the camera?s settings. Retweet, regram and repost please so I can find them and give them back their camera.? He repeated the post on Instagram and Twitter.

He could never have expected what came next. In less than two days, his Facebook post had 2,100 shares, it had been retweeted 1,000 times and it had traveled all over Instagram. Dozens of readers responded to Alex personally with suggestions of what other steps he could take ? from posting with the Facebook group Lost And Found Cameras and Photos and www.camerafound.com, to getting in touch with the Acropolis police station and the US Embassy in Athens. Others offered clues. ?I?m a tour guide,? one woman wrote to him. ?I saw this woman with her son near the restrooms at the Acropolis. I remember her because of her necklace. I think she may be French.?

One of the comments on Instagram, though, caught his attention in particular: ?Alex, there is no doubt this is my sister. I also sent you a message on Facebook with proof. She is actually in Greece but I don?t know for how long. I?m trying to...