She bought a projector from a thrift store. Then she found the people in the photos
Update: 3:30 p.m. Tuesday
Kristie Baeumert, the woman who was searching for the family appearing in photo slides that came with a projector she bought at Goodwill, says a member of the family has been found.
The woman saw a story about the photos on “CBS Evening News,” Baeumert posted in an update on Facebook.
“I spoke with a very lovely woman who asked that the photographs be turned over privately with no media attention. I plan to respect her wishes,” Baeumert wrote.
She also wrote: “I hope this story inspires people to dust off some boxes in their basements and bring those old memories to life again.”
Original story:
The photo slides that came with the $15 projector she bought at a thrift shop have unfolded a mystery with very few clues, but Kristie Baeumert is hoping someone can connect her with the family in the pictures.
Baeumert recently bought the Argus 300 Model III slide projector from a Goodwill in Tyrone, Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, and she thought it would be perfect to view photo slides she received from her grandmother.
But she wouldn’t just use it to view the slides she inherited from her family.
The projector also came with a “whole box of slides” that were taken by a different family.
“I started looking at them just out of curiosity and kind of fell in love with this beautiful family,” Baeumert posted to Facebook. In one photo, a woman poses in a white dress while she holds a glass in her hand. In another, a woman was captured while sunbathing in the sand. And in another, a young girl opens presents underneath a Christmas tree.
Knowing “the internet is a magical place,” Baeumert posted the photos June 15 with the hope that someone would recognize the people in the pictures that were being projected onto her wall.
The photos came with very few clues: One of the cars appeared to have a Colorado license plate, the box of the slides had the word “Kansas” written on top, and she thinks the images may have been taken in the 1960s.
“These pictures are part of their family’s story,” Baeumert told CNN. “They should have these memories to pass down and tell their story.”
After posting the photos to Facebook, Baumert told CBS that she has heard from people all over the world, but she has yet to solve the mystery.
“I really hope that I get that moment to hand them over,” she told CBS.
This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 1:56 PM.