We Have Cameras.

January 27, 2008 4:30 PM

Erika Gunderson got into a taxicab in New York City this past New Year's Eve and found a digital camera on the back seat. The cab driver had no information or interest in which previous passenger might be the rightful owner. Bringing the camera home, Gunderson's fiancé, Brian Ascher, took on the task of trying to find the owner. Using clues from 350 photos and two videos stored on the camera he was able to track down the owner, Irishman Alan Murphy in Sydney, Australia and return the camera to him.

This story echoes that of two of my friends who found a digital camera in a NYC cab and were able to "hunt down" the owners of it by examining the camera's images for clues.

posted by ericb (36 comments total)

So, kids, what have we learned. Take a picture of your business card, and make Metafilter more boring.
posted by eriko at 4:47 PM on January 27

Great story.

And a better tip: On the first image, take a picture of your name and phone number and lock that image. So if you lose it, you can be found.
posted by billder at 4:48 PM on January 27

My wife recently cleaned out her car and put our camera, her iPod, and a few other valuables into a trash bag to bring inside. Of course she tends to quite regularly empty the trash and set it by the door not quite making it outside and I end up taking it to the trash. You can guess what happened next...

It really was quite a nice camera.
posted by Octoparrot at 4:53 PM on January 27

Wow. Fun story. Very cool.
posted by ZachsMind at 5:01 PM on January 27

Also fun is finding a lost cell phone and deciding which name in the phonebook to call and report the phone to. Of course "Mom," "Dad" and "Home" are the first things to look for, but if none of those is in there you have to pick a name that feels plausible and hope it's not an ex that the owner of the phone didn't delete. "Dave, I told you never to call me again." "I'm actually not Dave. I just found this phone on the ground." "Nice try, Dave. It's over." "I'm really actually not ..." [Click.]
posted by tepidmonkey at 5:15 PM on January 27 [5 favorites]

A family member found a cell phone lying on the ground in a park a while ago, and just started dialing the speed-dial numbers in order, starting with #1. The first one was voice mail, but the second was the guy's wife, so problem solved. They actually stuck it in his mailbox on the way home.
posted by Kadin2048 at 5:20 PM on January 27

Recently, I was trying to put myself back together after the security screening in the relatively small airport of Jackson, MS. I didn't realize that my cell phone had fallen out of my purse. Some time after I left the gate, and before I realized I was missing the phone, a security person caught up with me and handed it back. I was very pleased, but puzzled -- how had they figured it was me?

Then I realized that the phone had my dachshund's picture on the wallpaper -- and I was traveling with her. I'd had to take her out of the carrier and walk with her through the metal detector. You don't see that many dapple blue-eyed dachshunds, so it was a safe bet to look for the woman who had one. I've since gotten a new phone, and I need to remember to put my dog's picture on it too.
posted by Countess Elena at 5:24 PM on January 27

Also fun is finding a lost cell phone and deciding which name in the phonebook to call and report the phone to.

Actually, I found a phone not too long ago. I just called the last person that they had called.
posted by vacapinta at 5:25 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

You people are clever.
posted by tepidmonkey at 5:30 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

Another puzzle like this is to look at your neighborhood on Google Earth (or Google Maps w/ satellite view) and try and figure out the exact date and time the picture was taken - car at home? church parking lot full? Snow on the ground? Known construction site status? etc..
posted by stbalbach at 5:31 PM on January 27

Actually, I found a phone not too long ago. I just called the last person that they had called.

Funny enough, I was once on the other end of that exchange, when a friend lost a phone, and the student who found it called the dialed numbers until someone answered. Good thinking on his part, double points for doing so despite being seriously stoned. Dude was baked and loving it. Ahh, Boulder in the Springtime.
posted by eriko at 5:37 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

Last year, I found a Blackberry in the back seat of a taxi. In the center of the screen, there was a name and telephone number. I went back to my office and picked up the phone. I called the number. A woman answered. I asked for the person named on the screen. She said she was that person. I told her I had found her Blackberry in a taxi. She said she was relieved to hear it. She asked if she could come to my office to pick it up later that afternoon. I said yes. She arrived at the appointed time. I gave her the Blackberry. She said thanks very much. We shook hands.
posted by brain_drain at 5:47 PM on January 27 [2 favorites]

the story could have taken a different turn (previously)
posted by seawallrunner at 5:57 PM on January 27

Cue Hollywood Romantic Comedy in 5.... 4..... 3.... 2....
posted by tkolar at 5:58 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

It's fun to return lost dogs too. If you see a dog running down the street with a tag, a safe bet is that it's not supposed to be and that there is a phone number on the tag.
posted by Pants! at 5:59 PM on January 27

Another puzzle like this is to look at your neighborhood on Google Earth (or Google Maps w/ satellite view) and try and figure out the exact date and time the picture was taken - car at home? church parking lot full? Snow on the ground? Known construction site status? etc..

They just recently updated our neighborhood to past the moment when our large oak tree fell square on the neighbor's vintage IH Scout.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:05 PM on January 27

Twice I have found random key rings laying around and both times there's been some little bit of evidence. Hours of walking around the neighborhood checking mailboxes and initials and knocking on doors... both returned to owners. Of course I lost an MP3 player that had my contact info on the splash screen and it's still missing... f*ckers.
posted by zengargoyle at 6:07 PM on January 27

I work in magazines and once had to track down the people in photos taken during the 40s, often with just a date and location on the back. It was the most fun I ever had, and this was pre-internet. Probably because it was pre-internet. I called a lot town halls and historical societies. The project eventually became a book, worth more than the rock-bottom prices I see it's fetching these days!
posted by Camofrog at 6:16 PM on January 27

I hope the Irish bartenders identified in the story have their green cards. Otherwise, it could be a case of no good deed...
posted by stargell at 6:26 PM on January 27

I found a wallet in the neighborhood. Had a couple hundred in it. Belonged to a couple who had recently moved into the hood.
That was twenty five years ago and the gal and my wife became best friends and still are.
posted by notreally at 7:01 PM on January 27

I left my wallet in a restroom in a public park in Auckland.

It beat me back to my hotel, courtesy of a couple up for the day from a suburbs...
posted by tkolar at 7:04 PM on January 27

create a text file called "readme.txt" or "if_found_read_this.txt" with your contact info and save it on all of your flash cards, jump drives, etc. Also create a hidden file with the same info if you know how so if there is a dispute you can point to the hidden file. (no help if drive is reformatted though)
posted by rjc3000 at 7:05 PM on January 27

I keep finding these arrowheads in the gravel-pit my trailer is parked on. No hope of findin' the owners, I'm guessin'.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 7:10 PM on January 27

It's fun to return lost dogs too.

And cats.

Stowaway Kitty Reunited with Her Family -- "Family’s pet cat takes flight in suitcase, which is then grabbed by mistake."
posted by ericb at 8:08 PM on January 27

I lost an iphone and some other nice stuff. If you find it, go ahead and mail it to me. Some money too, I lost some money. A bunch of it. Thanks!
posted by eccnineten at 8:49 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

I found a camera at the San Diego Intn'l airport just before Christmas of '06. A family from some Scandinavian country toured the U.S. and took a lot of pictures. I should have turned it into airport security but the twelve hour delay waiting in vain for the Denver airport to open and the realization that I would be spending Christmas home alone put me in a "bah, humbug" kind of mood. Sadly my detective skills have failed me and I haven't been able to figure out how to locate the owners.

This heartwarming story makes me think I should try again. Anyone have any ideas? Put some of the pictures up on a website somewhere? Maybe I'll make an AskMe post....
posted by Thoughtcrime at 9:15 PM on January 27

Here is a great way to spend 10 minutes that can save you several thousand dollars (depending on your stuff).

In 7 or 8 pt type, create little labels with your name, cel phone, and email address.

Then clip them and tape them onto your laptop, camera, iPhone, vid cam, cel phone, PSP, etc.

This works great!

BTW, tape label directly ON to the item and not the case or protective sleeve. And tape it well and cleanly so it's conscious effort getting it off. For some, making it extra work to actually do the wrong thing is all that is needed to push it over the edge and do the right.
posted by humannaire at 9:39 PM on January 27

Love feelgood stories. This was one of them. Thanks.
posted by nickyskye at 10:25 PM on January 27

after an afternoon of beer drinking in big sur, i stopped to urinate over a cliff. i noticed a glinting object down the slope, gingerly edged over and down to retrieve - a nikon 35 mm slr, still in good shape. when i got home, took it to a camera shop for them to open and see what was inside - no film. i was slightly relieved, had already considered worst case that it was full of child porn.
posted by bruce at 10:34 PM on January 27

Huh. I thought that when people find lost cell phones they start making random phone calls to Guyana.
posted by Tube at 10:36 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

ericb: It's fun to return lost dogs too.

And cats.

Stowaway Kitty Reunited with Her Family -- "Family’s pet cat takes flight in suitcase, which is then grabbed by mistake."

Weird, nearly the same thing happened in Canada last spring.
posted by loiseau at 1:02 AM on January 28

also in news
posted by yonation at 7:41 AM on January 28

Good story. Kind of cancels out the bad versions (thanks for the reference, seawallrunner). And good advice here about labeling stuff, too.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 8:27 AM on January 28

It's fun to return lost dogs too.

I've become something of a master of this in my neighborhood. There is one particular dog that I've caught and returned enough times, if it's walking down the street after escaping, and it sees me, it knows it's busted and it just turns around and goes straight home.

Which, as far as super-powers go, may not seem like much, but it's better than nothing.
posted by quin at 8:42 AM on January 28 [5 favorites]

My wife and I found a phone on the floor of a busy department store. Thinking we'd be heroes, we called the number listed under Home in the directory. The person who answered claimed no knowledge of any lost phone and seemed rather annoyed that we called.
posted by maurice at 9:13 AM on January 28

I lost my wallet on a train from Würzburg (I think anyway... one of those cities you always go through) to Munich 4 years ago. I never saw it again.
posted by !Jim at 9:44 PM on January 28