In a remarkable story of loss, recovery, and resilience, a camera lost during a 2012 shipwreck off Vancouver Island is finally being returned to its owner, Vancouver artist Paul Burgoyne.

The camera had gone down with his trawler, the Bootlegger, during a 500-kilometer voyage to his summer home in Tahsis, B.C., carrying with it irreplaceable photos.

Fast forward two years to May 2014, when students Tella Osler and Beau Doherty, along with diving officer Siobhan Gray, discovered the camera 12 meters underwater during a research dive near Aguilar Point. Marine ecologist Professor Isabelle M. Côté examined the barnacle-covered device and was astonished to find the 8GB Lexar memory card still functional.

Photos retrieved included a family portrait, which Côté shared online to help identify the owner. A local coast guard member recognized Burgoyne, having rescued him during the original shipwreck, setting the stage for a reunion between the artist and his lost memories.

Among the recovered images were deeply personal moments, including snapshots from a family ceremony to scatter his parents’ ashes and a video of turbulent seas before the vessel’s wreck. For Burgoyne, it was a powerful emotional return to a pivotal life moment.

The story not only underscores the resilience of modern technology but also celebrates the power of chance and human connection in restoring something thought lost forever.