After finding their “priceless” scrapbook at a thrift store for a few bucks last year, an Alaskan woman assisted a family in reuniting with it after it had been missing for ten years.
In 2023, Christine Otutoa paid $4 for what she believed to be an empty picture album at a non-profit thrift store in Anchorage. However, the book was filled with endless family photos and memories, including 1960s wedding photos.
Following her discovery, Otutoa searched for the family that had created those memories, and last week she sought assistance from a nearby television station.
“It may have been inadvertently thrown away, but I would prefer to return it and have someone relive these memories,” Otutoa said to Alaska’s News Source, which helped locate the book’s owners.
“You never know.” It could be really important to them.
According to the station, a reporter worked through the pages and used one of the names in a photo caption to solve the mystery before determining the book belonged to Allen Latuska.
Latuska, an Eagle River resident, allegedly stated that the scrapbook was last seen in his mother’s storage unit approximately ten years ago, prior to it being broken into and raided.
Pictures from his early years and of departed loved ones are included.
“They are truly precious, and I would be happy to reimburse her for the $4,” a tearful Latuska said to the station.
“I can only imagine if she would have picked it up and opened it and saw me, or if I would have seen it, it would have been shocking,” the woman said. She and I occasionally visit the same charity store.
Recently, he and Otutoa spoke, and Latuska conveyed his astonishment and appreciation.
As reported by Alaska’s News Source, Otutoa remarked, “I figured, you know, it’s somebody’s memories.” “And you know, I really wanted to make sure it gets back to the right owner because you can never get those pictures back.”
