News

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

How Social Media Reunited A Mom & Baby Who Got Separated During Harvey

Da’Jauh Hennix lived through every parent's worst nightmare. She was trying to escape the floods in Houston when she found herself trapped with her baby daughter. The two were stuck wading through neck-deep water, and Hennix did the only thing she could: she passed her 8-month-old baby into a stranger's arms in the hopes that her daughter would be safe. That was when this brave mom got separated from her baby during the Houston floods. For two days, she couldn't find her baby... until the man who rescued the little girl reunited them, thanks to the surprising kindness of strangers on social media.

According to a report by WUSA, Cpl. Reed Clark of the Harris County Constable’s Office Precinct 2 was scanning a neighborhood in East Houston using a personal watercraft on Monday when he spotted Hennix and her daughter. Clark told the local news outlet:

I heard people screaming ‘Baby!’ She was holding the baby up and then the water would come up and you could see her neck and her head come under the water and she was trying to get to higher ground.

Hennix admitted she was scared, but comforted when Clark told her that her daughter, Paige, would be in a black truck at the end of the street waiting for her. She told WUSA:

He was like, "she’s going to be in a black truck at the front." I’m like, "that’s fine."

Only it didn't turn out to be as easy as that.

Hennix got to dry land and made a discovery, as she told WUSA:

We’re still walking, we get to the front of the road, there’s so many black trucks.

Hours later, she went to the nearest shelter... without her baby. She was devastated, as was her mother. Frightened that she had lost her daughter in the flood, Hennix took to Facebook looking for help. She shared a picture of Paige and asked the internet for information. And fortunately, Clark thought to do the same. A picture he shared of himself with a newly rescued (and sleeping Paige) was shared more than 32,000 times.

Turns out, thousands of people on social media sharing the picture did the trick; two days later, mother and daughter were happily reunited. For her part, Hennix was in awe of how wonderfully Clark took care of her daughter, according to People:

She had a new blanket, she was dry, she was fed. When we got her she was sleeping.

As for Clark, he complimented Hennix' bravery and composure in what must have felt like a terrifying situation. He told People:

She is the perfect example of a great mother. She didn’t say help me one bit, she handed her baby over and said, "Help my baby, get my baby out of here."

As a natural disaster wreaks havoc along the southern coast, it's comforting to know that there are people out there who want to do what's right. Whether it's a mother saving her baby, a stranger rescuing a little girl, or thousands of people taking the time to pass vital information along the internet — sometimes, this world doesn't feel like such a bad place after all.