ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg woman is giving thanks this holiday, after a stranger took the time to return an irreplaceable family photograph found washed up in storm debris.

What You Need To Know

  • A St. Petersburg woman took the time to return an irreplaceable family photograph found washed up in storm debris

  • Carrie Simon Nash found the family photograph while cleaning her yard in Shore Acres

  • It didn’t take long to find the owner, Bonnie Strickland

Carrie Simon Nash found the family photograph while cleaning her yard in Shore Acres. She is one of many residents whose home flooded during storm surge from Hurricane Helene.

“We had to cut four feet of the drywall,” Simon Nash said. “It ruined everything.”

Just two weeks later, winds from Hurricane Milton knocked down a massive tree in her backyard and blew even more debris onto the property. Simon Nash said she was outside picking up when she noticed the photograph lying on the ground.

“Looking at their faces and they’re all smiling and laughing, it’s just a memory I thought needed to find its way back to its owner,” Simon Nash said. 

It didn’t take long to find the owner. Simon Nash posted in the neighborhood Facebook group and people immediately recognized a woman named Bonnie Strickland, who lives in the nearby Brightwaters neighborhood.

Simon Nash quickly made plans to meet. When Strickland arrived at her home, the two women embraced.