Doris Huser (left) said she feared the worst when her son, Aden (right), was lost at the Route 91 Harvest music festival after Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd
A mother has spoken of feeling ‘hopeless and helpless’ after becoming separated from her five-year-old son during the Las Vegas shooting – before she was reunited with him through social media.
Doris Huser said she feared the worst when her son, Aden, was lost at the Route 91 Harvest music festival after Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd.
She had gone to the bathroom and left Aden with his aunt – but when the firing began Aden ended up on his own, leaving Doris desperate to find her son.
But thanks to quick-thinking strangers, Aden was in touch with her within two hours.
When Paddock began his savage onslaught on the crowd – ultimately murdering 58 and injuring 527 – Lindsay Rogers, 26, ran straight into a tent.
While there, she found Aden on his own and decided to take him with her.
When Paddock began his savage onslaught on the crowd – ultimately murdering 58 and injuring 527 – Lindsay Rogers, 26, ran straight into a tent, where she found Aden alone. Right: Mother Doris Huser, who was desperately screaming for her son
Doris had gone to the bathroom and left Aden with his aunt – but when the firing began Aden ended up on his own, leaving Doris desperate to find her son. Pictured: Men and women fleeing bullets at the festival
She explained to ABC News: ‘I was nervous to take him because I knew that his mom would be devastated to find that her child was gone, but in the moment we thought that the best decision was to get as many people as safe as possible.
‘The shots were so sporadic and it wasn’t stopping so we took a chance.’
Meanwhile Aden’s mother and aunt were outside trying to find him.
Doris said: ‘The whole crowd just started rushing right at me.
‘I was screaming at the top of my lungs, but screaming did no good. It did nothing, we couldn’t find them.’
Two strangers – Taylor Sutton and Chris Cunningham – posted pictures of Aden to social media in a bid to find the boy’s parents
Rogers took Aden to a motel nearby before being advised to take him to the hospital so his mother could find him.
But Doris was just feet away the whole time, supporting her eight-year-old daughter.
Two strangers – Taylor Sutton and Chris Cunningham – were at this time posting pictures of Aden to social media in a bid to find the boy’s parents.
After being shared hundreds of times, the group looking after Aden was contacted by his grandfather.
Next morning Doris went to see Aden for an emotional reunion. She said: ‘His whole face lit up.
‘I dropped to my knees. I don’t think we’ve ever held each other that hard and that tight.
‘We were one for a minute and he just didn’t want to let go.’