Woman uses Twitter to uncover dad and daughter in photo at Notre Dame moments before fire

A Twitter user who was on the search for a dad and daughter who she captured in a photo just outside of the Notre Dame Cathedral only moments before it caught fire had finally found the subjects of the now viral photo.

Windsor, who was visiting France from her home in Michigan, shared the candid picture along with the following caption:

“I took this photo as we were leaving #NotreDame about an hour before it caught on fire. I almost went up to the dad and asked if he wanted it. Now I wish I had. Twitter if you have any magic, help him find this.”

Image via Twitter

The young woman took the photo just an hour before the cathedral burst into flames, according to the tweets.

When she along with her friends walked away toward the Louvre is when they began to see the smoke coming from Notre Dame.

“We walked to the Louvre afterwards. My friends noticed the smoke, and we followed, “

“We watched in shock and heartbreak with the rest of Paris,” Windsor shared with BBC regarding the blaze that lasted over 12 hours.

“If it were me, I’d want the memory,” she said. “Hoping he feels the same way.”

Brooke then wrote an update to her original tweet, posting:

“The search is over! The photo has reached the dad & family. He has chosen to remain anonymous in the wake of tragedy, and writes: “Thanks again for that beautiful photo, we will find a special place for it.”



Image via Facebook

“Thank you to everyone who has shared the picture and for your kind words—”

She then confirmed to the hundreds of thousands of people who have seen the photo on social media that it was Twitter that actually helped her track down the family.

Investigators surrounding the fire at Notre Dame cathedral have two theories on what caused the horrific fire: a short-circuit near its spire — possibly caused by electrified bells — or negligence by workers carrying out renovations.

The latter theory is due to discovering cigarette butts.

Image via U.S. Air Force photo/A1C Jack Sanders

This past Thursday, police investigators were allowed to search the cathedral’s interior for clues, according to a police officer who was not permitted to speak to the news media and requested to be anonymous the New York Times reported.

The investigators had been delayed in going into the cathedral prior to Thursday as there were serious concerns about the stability of the damaged structure, whose stone was weakened in the intense heat.

According to officials, their attention has focused on a few electrical installations by the spire — including a series of six midsize bells.

Image via YouTube

The police have discovered cigarette butts on the scaffolding as well — a possible reasoning for the blaze but one spokesman for the company that erected it disputed this claim.

Restoration work had begun at the church prior to the fire and much of the building was sheathed in scaffolding.

A police official did confirm however that smoking was forbidden under company rules and was considered as a possible cause, among a few others.

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