It’s obvious. Here at Spokeo, we love reunions and we love technology. We especially love when technology is responsible for making reunions happen. Our product is dedicated to helping individuals research one another in hopes that we’ll bring more people together. We’ve dedicated ourselves to supporting the volunteers that reunite adoptees and their families through our Spokeo Search Angels Program and we’re constantly on the lookout for stories about people reuniting.
This week, we read about Saroo Brierley, who was separated from his family in India at five years old and was able to reconnect with his family 25 years later using Google Earth and Facebook.
As a youngster, Saroo and his brother accidentally became separated while on a trip to a nearby town to find food. He boarded a train on his own, ended up in what was then Calcutta and later landed in an orphanage. He was adopted by an Australian couple.
According to NBC News, Saroo used the digital mapping system to trace a road that he recognized from his childhood to the house that he’d grown up in. He later visited the house only to find it boarded up and empty, but a neighbor lead him to his mother who still lived nearby.
Saroo has published the story of his journey in a book titled, “A Long Way Home” and there a rumors of a possible movie adaptation in the works. We can’t wait to hear more of his story and hope others are inspired to begin their journeys too!