A young boy was filming himself playing on a beach in Yorkshire, England when his waterproof digital camera was swept out to sea. The small camera traveled around 350 miles, before ending up on a beach on the tiny island of Süderoog in Germany, where it was found by the only permanent inhabitants of the island, Nele Wree and Holger Spreer.

Along its way, the camera recorded its journey and the memory card stayed intact, allowing the two farmers to view a little of its history. While they still don’t know who owned it, experts were able to identify the beach on which it was lost.

Odd things regularly wash up on the German island

It turns out Wree and Spreer are no strangers to odd things turning up on their beach and according to the Guardian, they have virtually a museum of items, including fishing gear, balloons and even a high-heeled shoe. Luckily the little camera was able to give its finders an idea of how it ended up on their island and even ended up telling them where it had been lost.

Telling footage gives clues as to the camera’s owner

The pair headed to Facebook to post about their find, saying that finally they had found a piece of flotsam that was "chatting" to them.

From viewing the video footage that survived the ocean journey, Spreer and Wree could see that a young boy most likely owned the no doubt treasured camera. It had captured video footage of family scenes, including the owner and his sister having fun on a trampoline and racing scooters indoors, while their parents relaxed on a couch.

The last piece of video footage was the most telling, however, as it shows the young boy on some rocks on a beach. The next moment he pours a bucketful of water onto the camera and places it in a tide pool.

He then goes on to place his camera onto a rock and films himself as he explores and later leaves the video frame. Suddenly a wave comes crashing in and grabs the camera, washing it out into the ocean, to begin its 350 mile journey to Süderoog.

Lost camera awaits its return home

The footage is dated September 2017, but so far the camera’s owner has not been found. As reported by the Yorkshire Post, however, an officer with the German Maritime Search and Rescue Association got to hear about the story and he was the one who identified the beach in the video as being Flamborough Cliffs in Yorkshire, England.

Since then, he has been trying to find the young boy to reunite him with his camera. While the search continues, the camera is enjoying a stay in Wree and Spreer’s little museum on the island, waiting to make its way home.
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