Tag Archives: orleans

#FindKatrinaGirl Search Ends In Terrific News! Social media is sometimes a place for shade, messiness and overall f*ck sh*t. Other times, it’s a place where people can reunite with those who changed their lives. An Air Force Pararescue Jumper spent 10 years looking for an adorable three-year-old girl he rescued after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on New Orleans in 2005. With only a heartwarming picture taken minutes after the rescue, and no information on the little girl or her family, the Air Force vet turned to social media and the hashtag #FindKatrinaGirl to find the Nawlins tyke. And because the Internet is awesome, it worked! Via PEOPLE: Mike Maroney had just returned from a devastating rescue mission in Afghanistan when he was called to New Orleans in September 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Maroney and his team spent seven days descending on rooftop after rooftop, rescuing stranded residents around the city, a grim task that left him wondering how many would actually survive. One of the few bright spots was an adorable, pigtailed three-year-old girl, who greeted the soldier with a big, joyous hug after she and her family landed in his helicopter. That hug “recharged me and gave me a little bit of a silver lining and some hope…that kept me going through rough times,” Maroney, 40, now an Air Force Reservist who teaches people how to become pararescue jumpers in San Antonio, Texas, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It couldn’t have come at a more important moment.” Maroney, who never got the little girl or her family’s names, has been searching for her ever since – and he’s finally found her, he tells PEOPLE. Her name is LeShay Brown, she’s now 13 years old and she lives with her family in Waveland, Mississippi. The two will reunite in New Orleans later this month. “I can’t wait to meet her to tell her how important she is,” he says. “In my line of work, it doesn’t usually turn out happily,” he says. “This hug, this moment, was like – everybody I’ve ever saved, that was the thank you.” So sweet! LeShay doesn’t remember, but she’s eager to meet the man who saved her life and can’t believe he spent all those years looking for her. Catch the full backstory over at PEOPLE . U.S. Airforce Photo Courtesy By Airmen First Class Veronica Pierce

Read the original post:
A “Lil Positivity”: Air Force Vet Finds Three-Year-Old Girl He Rescued After Hurricane Katrina