Anthony Posey, a professional photographer and a real estate agent in New Orleans, left his camera in a men's room at the Seattle Public Library on October 15. It took a while for him to notice that his Sony Alpha 37 was not with him. Realizing it, he rushed back to the building only to find out that it wasn't there anymore. He was in Seattle for a client's wedding.
Mr. Posey did not file a police report because he considered his camera to be more lost than stolen. He and his wife, Crystal Craddock-Posey went back to Louisiana. Using Craigslist, he then posted an ad for his lost camera.
Meanwhile during an undercover street buy in Seattle, the police found a stolen camera matching Mr. Posey's, though at that time they didn't know who the owner was. So a detective posted about the recovered camera on Nextdoor.com, a social network where members can connect with their neighborhood and community. The detective even included a wedding photo from Mr. Posey's camera thinking that "when people see a camera that has wedding pictures on it, they inherently want to help."
On October 22, luckily a member of Nextdoor.com from Seattle was able to connect the dots, The New York Times reported. He informed the Police that the camera they posted was similar to a posting he saw on Craigslist. And thus, the camera was returned to its rightful owner due to the tandem of the Seattle Police and Social Media.
Mr. Posey said that he was glad of what Seattle residents have done, making his vacation worthwhile to remember and because of what happened he's "more in love with Seattle than ever."
This isn't the first time that social media has helped police in solving a case. According to FOX23, Tulsa police has also solved several cases with the aid of social media. They even professed that since they used it they have seen an increase in their crime solving rate.
