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In a surreal moment, a Reddit user finally tracked down her father and his family. Through the magic of social media, the 25-year-old woman, who is only identified by the username Any-Cupcake5678, met her father after her parents separated when they were just two years old.
She first posted on June 29 about her willingness to reach out to her father. The only information she had was his name, that he worked at Poornima Travels in Majestic, Bengaluru, in 1998 and that he would be in his late forties or early fifties.
“He is originally from Kerala, but was working in Bengaluru at that time. My parents separated when I was just 2 years old, and I’ve never had the chance to know him. The staff at Poornima Travels haven't been willing to share the owner's contact details, and I’m hoping someone here might know former employees, drivers, or anyone who worked there during that time,” she wrote in the r/Bengaluru sub-Reddit.
“If you or someone you know had any connection to Poornima Travels in the late 90s, please reach out. Even the smallest lead could help me find him. Thank you so much for reading.”
It did not take long for other netizens to begin offering help. On July 3, the post had over a thousand upvotes (likes) and 136 comments, all from people who offered various ways of trying to find her father.
One user even identified the owner of Poornima Travels and suggested the woman user make an account on LinkedIn to initiate contact. Another user even offered to do that since a LinkedIn premium subscription was expensive. Many others suggested other ways and anxiously waited for updates.
Finally, on June 30, the Reddit user replied.
“I finally found my dad and my entire family. Sadly, my grandparents and my dad’s brother are no longer alive. Only one uncle is still around. I spoke to them over a call with the help of my friend who speaks Malayalam, and everyone was so happy to know that I had been searching for them. My dad cried when he heard my voice, and I found out that he had never remarried. He is currently working in Chennai. It was such an emotional moment, and I’m incredibly grateful—I got the information through Reddit,” she wrote.
She further explained that “people from Reddit helped me to find the relatives and their Facebook account”.