TikTok helps SoCal man find woman who lost family photos on camcorder years ago

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Max Rickun bought a camcorder on Goodwill's website in hopes of using it to make a music video, not knowing what he would find.

"I decided to open it up and realized there was an SD card in there," the Boyle Heights resident recalled.

Stored in that SD card was a collection of old family photos that belonged to someone else.

"I kept going through the pictures, I was like, 'It might be nice to see if there's a way to find the family,' and I knew that TikTok was the best way to do it," said Rickun.

Of course - TikTok did what TikTok does.

He posted his story and the photos to the popular social media platform, and one day later, Rickun's video went viral.

"I had the phone number of the woman who it belonged to in my inbox when I woke up," he said.

That number belonged to a woman in Iowa named Lee Wolf. Soon after, the two FaceTimed each other to connect.

Lee said she remembers losing that camcorder like it was yesterday. Also inside that camera bag? Her wedding ring.

"I was really hoping there was a wedding ring in there, but there wasn't," said Rickun.

Even though the ring wasn't found, something even more special came out of this lucky connection: a newfound friendship between Rickun and Wolf.

So not only does Wolf have her beloved family memories back, she also has a new friend.