Imagine searching for something for 20 years. You can't find any leads, you can just wish the next door you walk through will lead to what you're looking for,
For one Broken Arrow woman, that was reality, until one fateful day in mid July.
Carol Ingram is from Tulsa and now lives in Broken Arrow. Her mom died when she was just 18, and she didn't have many pictures to remember her by.
When Carol's mother passed, Carol's aunt held on to a precious photo in an old frame. Taken and colorized in the 1940s before her wedding, the picture was one of few that have survived.
"Her house caught on fire at age 18 and burned to the ground," Carol said about her mother's teenage home. "That's why there are so few pictures."
When Carol's aunt died 20 years ago, her home and possessions went through an estate sale. However, pictures and family heirlooms were set aside and distributed to family members.
But when the dust settled, the picture of Carol's mother was gone.
That's when she began her search.
"I've been looking off and on for the past 20 years," Carol said. "Much more in recent years... I've been going to a different store about every week."
Carol says she said a little prayer before walking into each store, hoping she wouldn't have to leave empty-handed.
Then one weekend, her prayers were answered as she saw her mother, no more than 25 years of age, staring back at her.
"It was probably the most shocking experience of my life," Carol said. "I came out of the booth, and in a loud voice I said, 'this is my mother!'"
After 20 years, Carol found what she was praying for. A vintage colorized picture in the original frame she remembers from her aunt's house - finally home once again.
