Flash drive with family photos mistakenly donated to Goodwill returned to owner

— -- A flash drive containing dozens of family photos that was mistakenly donated to a Wisconsin Goodwill has been returned to its owner thanks to Facebook.

Molly Szymkowski, of Waterloo, was shopping at a Goodwill retail store in a nearby town last week, where she purchased a colored box for $2.99.

"I was looking for a box to put some of my stuff in that I had gotten at a retreat," Szymkowski said. "I found a blue box that I thought would be simple and safe."

Szymkowski, who also works at Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin’s corporate center, did not open the box when she was at the store. When she got home, she found grass-like confetti inside the box and the flash drive buried underneath.

She checked the flash drive and discovered about 50 pictures from what appeared to be a family party. She posted a small number of the photos in a closed neighborhood group on Facebook in hopes someone could identify the individuals.

"I think within 10 minutes I had people responding that they might know the people," she told ABC News. "Somebody commented on the post, 'Facebook is faster than the FBI.'"

Szymkowski said she found a husband and wife on Facebook through the leads she received and quickly sent them each a Facebook message. When they didn’t reply, she tracked down who she believed could be the couple's daughter and messaged her, too.

"She replied and then we spoke on the phone that same day," Szymkowski said of the woman, Heidi Staats. "She was shocked, but she was relieved and kind of surprised how great Facebook works."

Staats was traveling for work in Florida when she saw Szymkowski's Facebook message, which included one photo from the flash drive.

"I recognized it to be my dad and his wife’s Christmas card," Staats said of the photo. "I told her I was certain it was accidental that [the flash drive] got in there."

Staats, who lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin, said her family, including her father, stepmother and two siblings, is still not sure who donated the box or how it ended up in the Fitchburg store where Szymkowski purchased it.

"Sometimes our dad will bring us a drive with pictures on it, so I’m not sure if he handed it off to us and then one of us finally got rid of something and it was in there," she said. "I do recognize the box and I know it came from a holiday."

Szymkowski mailed the flash drive to Staats, who applauded the "Kevin Bacon effect" of Facebook that linked the flash drive back to her family.

"We’re all dying to find out what year it is from and what the events were," Staats said. "And that will help us determine who it originated with."

Szymkowski said she was following the golden rule when it came to going above and beyond to return the flash drive to its rightful owner.

"I would have been really upset if I had lost pictures too," she said. "I’ve also stored important documents on flash drives so I didn’t want it to get in the wrong person’s hand."

A spokeswoman for Goodwill confirmed Szymkowski's purchase and applauded her efforts to return the flash drive.

"As a community-based organization, it’s our local donors and shoppers who help us provide services to area individuals," the spokeswoman said in a statement. "That community spirit is just amplified when you see people like Molly who are willing to reach out make sure the generosity of a neighbor didn’t turn into a loss."