A British couple who lost their camera when it fell into the sea during a Caribbean holiday have been reunited with their photographs 18 months later.
Simon and Cassie Woods from Shropshire never thought they would see pictures of their trip to the Dominican Republic after their kayak rolled over.
Their Hero 4 Go Pro waterproof camera disappeared between the waves of the Caribbean Sea in April 2018.
Cassie Woods and her husband Simon never thought they would see photographs of their dream trip to the Dominican Republic (pictured) after their kayak rolled over
But after spending 18 months underwater, it was picked up by another British holiday-maker who was snorkelling and vowed to hunt down its owners.
Mrs Woods, 34, was ‘completely shocked’ to find her holiday snaps posted on a lost and found Facebook group last month.
Snorkeler Ryan Friday-Swann, 36, had shared the pictures online hoping someone might recognise the couple and help him reunite them with their memories.
Mrs Woods said: ‘I couldn’t believe it. A friend sent me the link to the post with our photos and I saw the messages when we were in the middle of work and I thought, that can’t be true. It is just amazing.’
The Facebook page Lost Box put Mr Friday-Swann and Mrs Woods in touch and she was thrilled when she finally got her photos in the post.
Their Hero 4 Go Pro waterproof camera (pictured) disappeared between the waves of the Caribbean Sea in April 2018
Mr and Mrs Woods, both vets, went on holiday to the Dominican Republic almost two years ago and had been using the Go Pro for swimming, sailing and horse riding.
While kayaking with the camera, Mrs Woods hit a big wave and the Go Pro fell off her head and sunk in the sea.
She had no luck when she tried to search for it so they had to give up. The couple told the staff in the hotel about the camera but did not hear anything back.
Mrs Woods said: ‘Honestly we had just given up. We just thought it was lost forever.
‘We always joked that if someone were to find it they would have thought we had drowned, because I lost it when we rolled the kayak.’
But after spending 18 months underwater, the camera was picked up by British holiday-maker Ryan Friday-Swann (pictured with his wife Ani) who had been snorkelling
Mrs Woods had posted online about the lost Go Pro but had given up hope of ever being reunited with it.
Civil servant Mr Friday-Swann was on his honeymoon with his wife Ani in September 2019 when they stumbled upon the camera.
He was snorkelling when he saw the device, so reached down and grabbed it. The Go Pro had not gone far from the resort in Punta Canta where Mrs Woods and her husband, 37, had been staying.
Mr Friday-Swann said: ‘We opened up the casing and it was full of water and sludge. I let it sit and let it dry out for a couple of days in the hotel room.
‘We brought the camera home and took the memory card out. It was covered in muck so I had to do a little bit of soldering. Amazingly, all the photos were fine.’
Mr and Mrs Friday-Swann moved to Northern Ireland in December and forgot about the memory card until they were clearing out some moving boxes.
He said: ‘We listened to some of the video and we heard the girl talking and she sounded like she was from the north.’
He posted some of the pictures from the camera on the Facebook page Lost Box, a group that tries to reunite found items with their owners.
He asked if anyone recognised the couple and was taken aback by the response, with over 1,000 users sharing the holiday shots.
Mr and Mrs Friday-Swann moved to Northern Ireland in December and forgot about the memory card until they were clearing out some moving boxes. They posted some of the pictures online and asked if anyone recognised the couple
Mr Friday-Swann wrote: ‘After being underwater for over 18 months it would be wonderful to get them back to their original owners.
‘If they are yours, or you know who they are, please drop me a message. Thanks everyone.’
After just a day, Facebook users had tracked down Mr and Mrs Woods, who live in Shropshire.
Mr Friday-Swann said: ‘I was amazed it was so quick. I couldn’t believe it. We were literally halfway around the world and managed to find their camera.
‘I was really happy that the camera worked in the first place. We were there on our honeymoon and we would have been devastated to have lost our photos.’
The page put Mr and Mrs Woods in touch and he sent over their photos and the damaged camera in the post.
Mrs Woods added: ‘It just shows that there are really kind people out there. To go to all that effort to get it back to us is really touching.’