Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Monday, May 5, 2014
(TAMPA, Fla.) - Jeanene Fisher couldn’t believe what she found inside the walls of her bathroom — a baby book filled with treasures, discovered after a plumber tore open the walls looking for a leak.
"It has everything, his birth certificate, first haircut, notes from his mom," said Fisher.
She knew by the baby's birthday in 1959 it had to be the home's first owner.
"I knew, too, that I have to be able to find this guy," she said. "It helped having his family tree. That is how I tracked him down."
She posted pictures on Facebook and got advice from a friend who's a private investigator. Before she knew it, she connected with the man whose history is detailed in the book.
WFTS, our Scripps station in Tampa, was there when Robert Swindle drove in from Orlando.
Fisher walked him into the home where he lived when he was only 5 years old, and then she showed him a piece of his past.
"To get mementos, to get things back from that time that you just assumed were just lost for eternity is kind of pretty cool," said Swindle.
Swindle said most everything from when he was a child was lost and that to have the book back is still hard to believe.
Fisher said she believes the discovery was meant to be. She believes years ago, the book fell from the attic and landed in a crevice in the walls.
If it had fallen just a few inches over, the book would have been destroyed by the leak.
"It was meant for you to get it back," said Fisher.
"It is quite emotional for me, more so than I thought it would be," said Swindle. "I didn't even want to tell my mom until I saw it, to make sure it was mine. She's going to be overwhelmed."
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