In 2014, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Joe Lynch was browsing a local Goodwill store when he noticed a classic RCA video camera sitting on the shelf. He couldn't pass up the secondhand camcorder, especially since it only cost five bucks.
Just as Sgt. Lynch was about to use his new camera to capture memories with his family at home, he felt something in one of the pockets of the camera bag.
He pulled out a bunch of old tapes. Curious, he popped the tapes into the camera and proceeded to be stunned by what he saw.
Sgt. Lynch and his wife knew they had to find the original owner(s) of the camera immediately, but the footage left little-to-no clues as to their identity.
So Sgt. Lynch began posting about the tapes on Facebook and Twitter, hoping someone out there would recognize them.
Little did the mystery family know someone was looking for them hundreds of miles away.
In 2014, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Joe Lynch found a used video camera at Goodwill store in Indiana.
For just $5, Sgt. Lynch couldn't resist purchasing the classic RCA model camcorder.
He couldn't wait to take it home and begin capturing new memories with his family.
But when he brought the camera home, Sgt. Lynch dug around in the camera bag and pulled out a bunch of old tapes.
The tapes, which were stuffed deep-down inside a pocket, contained a lifetime of another family's priceless moments.
Sgt. Lynch curiously popped the tapes into the camera. One after the other, he was stunned by what he saw.
There was a video featuring a mother who had just given birth to her second child, a beautiful baby boy.
An older brother meeting his newborn sibling for the very first time.
The children growing up, talking to the camera, being silly.
The family sitting around the table carving pumpkins for the holidays, or taking vacations.
With his wife's encouragement, Sgt. Lynch realized he couldn't just let the tapes sit around and collect dust. Instead, he went on a mission to find the family in the tapes and return them.
However, it was not an easy feat. There were hardly any clues as to the identity of the mystery family.
Sgt. Lynch posted about the tapes on Facebook and Twitter. WAVE 3 News aired reports about them. It wasn't before long that the story went viral.
Eventually, the story made it back to the Humphrey family. Nearly 300 miles away, they don't even live anywhere near the Goodwill store where Sgt. Lynch bought the camera.
The Humphreys accidentally left their tapes inside a camera case given to mother Stephanie's brother-in-law, Kit, who ended up donating it.
No one in the family ever checked the camera bag's pocket.
They had no clue their tapes were lost somewhere out there.
The Humphreys were blown away, not only because they discovered their home movies were missing, but that the person who found them actually tracked them down.
The grateful family decided to thank Sgt. Lynch and his family in person, so the Humphrey family of six made the four-hour trip from their home in Kentucky to the Lynch family's home in Indiana.
Stephanie spoke of the significance of the tapes, especially the one featuring her in the hospital after giving birth to Greyson: "When we taped it, I remember thinking this is the first time my oldest son is seeing my second son, and it's just priceless."
The Humphrey kids — Cooper, Greyson, Ella and Everly — are now cherishing the home movies.
This story definitely makes you want to hold tight to those priceless memories. Please SHARE this incredible act of kindness with your friends on Facebook!
