Local

Local woman loses camera in Hawaii; Camera found in Taiwan

ATLANTA — Nearly six years after a Newnan woman lost her underwater camera in Hawaii, it washed up on a beach more than 6,000 miles away.

Lindsey Scallan told Channel 2's Diana Davis about the amazing discovery, and how it restored her faith in good deeds.

"I was ecstatic," Scallan told Davis.

Scallan was on her last day of vacation on a nighttime dive in Maui when she lost the camera strapped to her wrist.

"It was my first time in Hawaii ever, so I was pretty upset I had lost all my memories," she said.

Just weeks ago, a man was walking the beach of eastern Taiwan when a wave washed a piece of what he thought was junk onto the sand. It turned out to be Scallan's camera. It was covered in barnacles, but the memory card was still intact.

"He wanted to know what happened to the owner, what the story was with me ," Scallan said.

He took the camera to police, and they contacted a Hawaiian TV station. Soon, Scallan's pictures were all over the Internet and her high school friend saw them.

"He recognized me, so he sent me a message on Facebook when I was at work saying, 'Hey Lindsay, it looks like someone found your camera,'" she said. "This whole thing is crazy. It's awesome, though."

For Scallan, there's been a tidal wave of good feelings for someone who cared enough to search for her.

"It just renews your faith in people. There's so much negativity in this world. This is just a great fun story. There is good left in this world, and there are still a lot of caring people out there," she said. 

Soon, Scallan will retrace her camera's six-year journey. The man in Taiwan works for China Airlines, and the airline will fly her there free of charge in June. She looks forward to meeting with her camera and the man who found it.

"Memories are very important, and he wants me to treasure this when I get it back, which I absolutely will," she said.