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Lost Camera - Any Arubans Here?


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The purpose of this thread is two-fold. One, to share a pretty cool story, and two, to seek help from Aruba. I seem to recall someone who frequents this board is from Aruba, so I'm hoping I'll get lucky.

 

Two weeks ago, I found a camera in a waterproof housing washed ashore here in Key West. I found the latest pictures and videos dated November 11, 2009. I knew the pictures were not from the Keys, so I took on a little project to track down the owners. This picture was my first clue:

 

2882775230080150150S600x600Q85.jpg

 

I tracked down a company called wereldstage.com, based out of Curacao, but also with a location in Aruba. The font matched that on the truck. I then painstakingly identified the building in the background as the Alhambra Casino, which means the hotel they are standing at is the Casa Del Mar. Then, there was this picture:

 

2160997450080150150S600x600Q85.jpg

 

Google Earthing, I identified this hotel as the Divi Aruba, right next to the Casa Del Mar.

 

I figured this was not vacationers because of several pictures like this:

 

2105431530080150150S600x600Q85.jpg

 

I translated the writing on the wall over the boy's head and found this to be a school called Schakel in Aruba.

 

So to sum it all up, this camera was lost while diving on November 11, 2009. You can click any of the above pics to open the album I created. The camera floated all the way to Key West in 6 months, which is totally possible due to the Loop Current.

 

If there are any Arubans reading this, I request your help. Wereldstage and Schakel school have both failed to return e-mails. Is there anything you can do to assist?

 

Oh, and by the way, halfway through the camera's journey, a sea turtle came across the camera. When he tried to eat it, he turned it on and recorded himself. This was recorded in January, 2010:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43sg-Ytt58

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I liked the sea turtle's video.

 

Thank you, Marci. It was a pain to edit that video. Only 5 minutes was with the turtle. It went on to record another 15 minutes (and 2gb) of just the camera floating there, assumably until the batteries died.

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I think its great that you are putting in so much effort to find the owner .You are going miles beyond what most will do.

:cj

 

Thanks, CJ. I appreciate the kudos.

 

BTW..what kind of housing was the camera in?

 

For that camera to stay dry for a six month journey is amazing in and of itself.;)

 

The camera was in an Ikelite housing. There was not one single drop of water or grain of salt inside the housing. I already reached out to Ikelite and gave them the story. They are currently trying to track the serial number for me. I should have an answer on Tuesday.

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Thanks, CJ. I appreciate the kudos.

 

 

 

The camera was in an Ikelite housing. There was not one single drop of water or grain of salt inside the housing. I already reached out to Ikelite and gave them the story. They are currently trying to track the serial number for me. I should have an answer on Tuesday.

 

 

They have a product to be proud of.

 

I'm checking their website now.:)

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First, I'd like to say kudos to you for all of the time and energy you have spent trying to get this camera back to its rightful owner. I hope to maybe sail with you someday so I can buy you a beer.

 

After watching the video of the turtle, all I can see in my mind's eye is 'Crush' from the movie "Finding Nemo".

 

Duuuude! I was like, Woahhhh.....what is this tasty morsel? Righteous!!!!!!

 

:)

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Thanks for the kudos, folks. I'm an investigator by profession, so I just couldn't pass up this challenge. I've got everything identified so far except the "who." I'm hoping to find one person with Aruban connections. Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to book a trip to Aruba! :D

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Thanks for the kudos, folks. I'm an investigator by profession, so I just couldn't pass up this challenge. I've got everything identified so far except the "who." I'm hoping to find one person with Aruban connections. Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to book a trip to Aruba! :D

 

 

Good idea!!

 

Nothing like being "in country".:)

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http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1133869

 

I'm not sure if I copied this right so hopefully it works. Here's another story of a lost camera found. It's a long thread but well worth the read. One in a million. Hope you find the owners.

 

That is great! I hope I have the same success.

 

I'm still amazed at this camera floating all the way from Aruba and landing practically in my back yard.

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Auqua, what a great thing you are doing in trying to track these folks down! You definitely seem to have things covered but one thought that popped to my mind is contacting the company that made the camera because if the folks who bought it registered it with them for the warranty they would be able to use the serial number and get some info. Again it seems like something you have probably done. Best of luck in your search and please keep us updated. Take care, Jim

Edited by Icruzthere4Iam
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Auqua, what a great thing you are doing in trying to track these folks down! You definitely seem to have things covered but one thought that popped to my mind is contacting the company that made the camera because if the folks who bought it registered it with them for the warranty they would be able to use the serial number and get some info. Again it seems like something you have probably done. Best of luck in your search and please keep us updated. Take care, Jim

 

You are correct, in that I have already done that. In another forum (scubaboard), one of the members works for Nikon. The s/n was a dead-end. The warranty card was not sent in.

 

However, a rep from Ikelite told me the camera and housing are often sold as a combo. I have yet to hear back from him on the housing s/n.

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