Woman missing her late dad looks up old home on 'Google Earth' — finds him 'waiting' for her

We cannot meet the people we've lost, not in person, not the way we used to, but we can revisit them again through photos,  videos, or in a grainy frame from a satellite image taken years ago. A growing trend has users searching through Google Earth for the chance to revisit places that hold someone they still miss. On Instagram, Reagan Davis (@reaganndavis1) joined the trend and ended up finding a moment she didn't expect to see again. In her video, she scanned over a quiet street in 2019 until it landed on a familiar front yard, and there he was, on the porch swing — her grandfather. 

"Somewhere it's 2019 and my papa is sitting on his swing waiting for us to come over," she wrote in the overlay. In her caption, she added, "Was not expecting this. His belly out and all. Watching the birds and counting the cars that go by." What caught her off guard wasn't just the accuracy of the image, but the ordinariness of it. Her 'papa' was just there, doing what he always did, waiting, without knowing this version of him would be saved for posterity. The emotional pull of returning to familiar places is not just anecdotal. A 2021 study found that people often link specific locations to deeply personal experiences. The study explained that these emotional associations can resurface even when viewed digitally and are shaped by the memories connected to the space.

The video struck a chord with others, many of whom shared memories of using Google Maps to revisit a version of the past that still feels close. @_lenatodd said, "I know. My childhood home on Google Maps in 2012 shows my sister and me playing in the yard with our babysitter. My mom was alive, and she was going to come home from work. Everything was fine." @dovetailsanddust_01 wrote, "I am so happy you have this. My son told me, crying a few years ago — after my father passed — that he did Google Earth and that he could see my dad's truck door open under the carport at my parents' house. It was heartbreaking because he knew the photo just missed him unloading groceries or something." @sam_1996_antha penned, "Somewhere in 2020 on Google Earth, my little grandmother is still alive and her car is in her driveway."

@brttabug added, "When I saw this trend, I went to look for my grandpa. He wasn't outside, but his truck was in the driveway, and his lawnmower, which he basically used as a power chair, was in its usual place. He passed in January, but seeing his house like that makes me feel better." @philoridalife_outdoors shared, "I take a trip down Google Street View the last year I lived at my old home, often. It's still set up just the way we lived it and left it. Beautiful. Thirteen years gone and I still miss it every single day." @katie__nott quipped, "I love going on Google maps and looking at my grandparents' house back in 2011. I would do anything to be able to jump through the screen and be there again." @fabulous_pants said, "This makes me miss my dad. Wish I could see him on Google Maps." 

You can follow Reagan Davis (@reaganndavis1) on Instagram for more fitness content.