Google+ reunites ocean-bound Canon EOS with its owner

by Steven Mostyn - Nov 28 2011, 09:35

Who says social networks serve no purpose other than to provide a cloak of anonymity for cyber bullies or to let embittered technology writers gloat from a distance at how fat and unhappy former partners have become?

Moreover, while there will always be a bone of contention to chew upon where the blurry parameters of online privacy are concerned, social networking does sometimes craft a genuine story of goodwill and cheer.

For example, an expensive DSLR camera lost to the Pacific Ocean for more than a year has been reunited with its owner thanks to the power and reach of Google+.

The camera in question—a Canon EOS 1000D—was fortuitously retrieved by Markus Thompson of British Columbia during a diving trip in Vancouver’s picturesque Deep Bay.

Rather than merely discounting the find as little more than man-made detritus, Mr. Thompson instead removed the device’s onboard SD memory card in the hopes of uncovering the camera’s original owner.

Amazingly, the card was undamaged and Mr. Thompson was able to upload select content to his Google+ account after perusing the photos and isolating a number of unique identifying elements.

“Approximately 50 pictures on the card from a family vacation,” he wrote on his profile. “If you know a fire fighter from British Columbia whose team won the Pacific Regional Firefit competition, has a lovely wife, and (now) 2 year old daughter—let me know. I would love to get them their vacation photos.”

With the Google+ community rallying to help, it didn’t take long for a Firefit Canada representative to come forward and contact Mr. Thompson, putting him in touch with an unnamed member of the Delta Fire Department who had indeed lost a Canon camera off the Deep Bay wharf.

For those who may be interested, the camera’s impressively robust SD card was a SanDisk Extreme III (20mb/s). Sadly, the Canon EOS did not survive its watery ordeal.

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