Woman Finds Someone's Family Photo in Her Yard After L.A. Fire. She Finds the Owner — and a Surprising Connection (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Terry Young, Philip Neches, and son Russell (left), Annatova Neches and mom Terry.Photo:Cheryl Heuton; Courtesy of Annatova Neches

Cheryl Heuton; Courtesy of Annatova Neches

The Eaton Fire left one woman on a mission to return a family keepsake to its rightful owner.

“We could see the flames from our house, so on Tuesday night we got the notice to evacuate and we did,” Heuton tells PEOPLE. “We left not knowing if it was all going to burn to the ground, and you can’t even emotionally think into it. We’ve lived in our home for 30 years, raised our child there. Thankfully, we were able to return to our house and see that it was undamaged.”

When they returned to their home, “there was a fine layer of ash and dust on a lot of stuff outside the house,” Heuton says.

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Eaton Fire.Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

While surveying everything that Thursday, Heuton spotted trash near the sidewalk in front of her home.

“I started picking up the trash and it was weird because some of it was bank receipts with people’s account totals on them. I picked up another piece of paper and was about to crumple it in my hand when I turned it over and saw it was a photo.”

Heuton knew right away she wanted to get the photo, which showed a couple holding a newborn, back to whoever it belonged to.

“This photo was blown into our yard during the Eaton Canyon fire. Anyone from Pasadena/Altadena recognize these people?” she asked, posting across Facebook, Bluesky and X. From there, it also made its way to Reddit.

“I didn’t think I would get such a response. The photo isn’t the only one in the area I’ve seen on social media, so I wasn’t expecting it to go viral,” Heuton says.

“It’s been very moving because a lot of the people who want to get the photo back, are people who’ve lost everything [and] are hopeful that at least this one photo can get back,” Heuton says.

PEOPLE reached Neches' daughter, Annatova, who confirmed the photo featured her father, her mother and her older brother, who was the first to alert her of the found photo online.

“My brother lives in Japan. He sent me an email about getting a strange message about the picture. He thought it was AI generated. He didn’t recognize it, and I might not have either,” she says. “Maybe I would have thought it was AI generated too, if I hadn’t just taken a picture of that exact photo and had it on my phone.”

“I was reached out to with the same message, and then I heard from PEOPLE and was connected with Cheryl,” she adds.

Annatova was anxious about her mom and her caretaker’s safety as the fires broke out, close enough to scare them but not enough to cause any direct damage. Annatova says they were evacuated twice — once from Pasadena and again from Arcadia.

Teresa Young and Philip Neches with son Russell Neches in found photo.Cheryl Heuton

Cheryl Heuton

“It was a frightening event for everyone. I was in constant contact with the caretaker, keeping an eye on what needed to happen next and what was happening,” Annatova says. “They had to bounce around for a few hours until they were finally able to go back to her home in Pasadena. They were okay, but it was just scary and stressful for me. I wasn’t sure if I should go there or if staying away was the right thing. I did end up going.”

Annatova connected with Heuton, learning that she’s a close neighbor of her mom. Further, she knew it was possible the photo was sitting out in her mom’s home when the fires broke out.

“I’m pretty sure one of those albums must have been out, or packed in something, and the photo got out that way,” she continues. “I do wonder if there was a double of it somewhere or if the windows kept getting blown open and in the shuffle it got blown away. There’s quite a bit of wind damage at my mother’s house, with fences and yard structures blown over.”

Annatova finds it “magical” that the photo found its way back to her — and brought Heuton into her orbit.

This weekend, the women will meet at a very special event: Annatova is celebrating her mom’s time as an artist with a show displaying 20 pieces ofher art.

“My mother was a very prolific artist in her life before dementia,” Annatova shares. “She was a naturalist and an entomologist. I’m displaying 10 illustrations and 10 oil paintings. She would do beautiful landscapes and illustrations of the California wildlife.”

In the works since October, the event is the perfect time for Heuton to meet Annatova and her mom.

Annatova Neches and her mother Teresa Young.Courtesy of Annatova Neches

Courtesy of Annatova Neches

“When Cheryl and I connected, I was like, ‘I want you to come to this show. I want you to come and bring the photograph and meet my mother and see her artwork and celebrate her life and connection and regrowth together,’ " she says.

“I’m so excited. It’s meant to celebrate her life and her work and her love of the California wilderness, especially in this moment of devastation and heartbreak and loss.”

Though she never expected her family photo to go viral, Annatova hopes it’s made a difference to others who’ve needed an uplifting story as they navigate this stressful time.

“I hope that every component of this story can bring people understanding and hope and connection,” she says. “The loss and the fires, the missing photo, the connection of two neighbors, the celebration of a woman’s artwork.”

Click hereto learn more about how to help the victims of the L.A. fires.

source: people.com