An Australian man discovered framed photographs of him and his wife in a thrift store that they had lost while moving house more than 30 years ago.
Rob Klaric was browsing Lifeline’s Mosman store on Sydney’s north shore when he saw the two photographs on the floor and thought he was “hallucinating”.
The photographs were taken in 1988, when he and Leonie, his wife of 35 years, were backpacking through Europe. They hung on the wall for a few years before, in 1993, a moving company lost the box they were packed in.
‘I’m still excited about this. I mean, what are the chances? Klaric told Ben Fordham of 2GB.
‘I walked into a store and saw these photos and thought I was hallucinating.
‘We backpacked through Europe, to my mother’s house in northern Italy.
“The photo is iconic because it is in the backyard of my mother, who just passed away a few years ago.”
Klaric married Leonie a year after returning from Europe and they lived in a small place while they recovered before upsizing a few years later.
Rob Klaric with Lifeline Mosman staff after finding two framed photographs of him and his wife on a European holiday 30 years ago in the store.
Klaric said it was a great coincidence that he decided to visit that store (pictured)
The two photos were taken in Italy when he and his wife were backpacking a year before they got married, but they got lost while moving house.
He had always wondered what happened to the photos and when he saw them in the op tent his first thought was “this can’t be real”, but they were unmistakable.
The staff were also stunned, but Klaric explained that he still had to pay for the items.
‘The ironic thing is that my photo, sorry Leonie, mine was more expensive. It was $12 and hers was $8,” he said.
Klaric said he wondered if his late mother had anything to do with the remarkable find.
“My beautiful Italian mother has her fingerprints all over her,” he said.
‘Those photographs were right in the middle (of the store) on the floor, you would never have seen them unless you had walked around the store.
‘If it was on the left or right you wouldn’t have seen it.
“I think he’s watching from heaven.”