Man finds his way home using Google Earth – after 25 years

25 years ago, Saroo Brierley became separated from his family in India, was declared a “lost child” and placed in an orphanage. Today, thanks in part to Google Earth, he’s finally been reunited with his family!
Despite only being five years old when he boarded the wrong train and couldn’t find his way back home, Saroo remembered the town was he was raised:

“I kept in my head the images of the town I grew up in, the streets I used to wander and the faces of my family, I treasured those memories,” he said.

For the past 10 years, he’s scoured the internet looking for clues that might lead him home. He’s spent “many hours” in Google Earth zooming around to try to find something familiar. He remembered the Khandwa train station, which eventually lead him to where his family was located.
It’s quite an amazing story, and another example of the ways that Google Earth can be used to bring people together. You can read the full story on The Mercury.