San Diego asks for help reuniting owners with family photo album found in flood debris

If you recognize this family, call the parks and recreation department directly at 619-525-8222.

The City of San Diego is asking for the community’s help after clean-up crews in Southcrest made a priceless discovery.

“They’ve been out there, either picking up things by hand or using heavy machinery, just picking up tons and tons of debris, mud, things like that,” Ramon Galindo, a public information officer with the city of San Diego, told NBC 7.

Galindo explained they have been in the areas hit hardest by last week’s flooding day and night. They have come across furniture, clothing, toys, book — you name it — but something they noticed on Tuesday was enough to make them stop what they were doing.

“It was in that process of using their heavy machinery and picking up that mud when they saw these albums there amongst the debris, and it really just touched them," Galindo said.

They found a handful of photo albums near Southcrest Trails Park on Beta Street. The albums had come apart because of water damage, but some of the photos that were inside looked like they could be salvaged.

“They got into this mindset, ‘We can’t throw these away,’ and that’s how they ended up here,” Galindo said, referring to the city’s parks and recreation office in Balboa Park, where the photos are being kept safely.

The photos range from small polaroids to 4x6 prints. They appear to show members of at least one family, featuring vacations, holidays and baby photos. One of the pictures shows a pair sitting on a couch and is dated December 1993.

Now, the city is determined to find who owns these photos. Galindo explained that while they were found in Southcrest, they could have come from other areas.

“We’re under the assumption these flowed miles down the creek during the heaviest of the rain,” Galindo added.

He mentioned this would be a small silver lining in more than a week of tragedy for so many.

“Some families have lost everything. Their personal documents, photos like these, mementos, things that really are a big part of their family history,” he said. “This is one family history going back decades, and if we can help bring that back to them, that would be great.”

If you recognize this family, call the parks and recreation department directly at 619-525-8222.