Social media helps track down once-in-a-lifetime photo

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) A 10-year-old girl and the democratic nominee for president--it was a nice photograph from Friday's Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine rally at Temple University. But it's the story behind the photo that got our attention.

10-year-old Harper Leary and her mom were among the midday rally crowd last Friday, when Hillary Clinton said parents could now tell their daughters what they'd been telling their sons for generations:

"You too, could be president of the United States! Thanks you all- God bless you!"

As the rally ended, Harper made a beeline for the stage. She was desperate to get her picture taken with the history-making nominee.

She made it to the front of the pack and then, says her mom, Marion, "It must have been-- it felt like a good 30 seconds, over and over again-- 'Hillary! Hillary!- to try and get her attention. And finally, Hillary looked back, saw that it was a 10-year-old kid and smiled and walked back over..

Marion reached for her camera-phone to capture the once-in-a-lifetime moment and that's when it happened.

"And as soon as I needed to take it with Harper and Hillary Clinton, it said it could no longer take any more pictures," her mother told FOX 29.

Turns out Marion's camera had run out of storage and there was no room for extra pictures.

FOX 29 had interviewed Harper before the event, and mom wanted a memento- so she snapped a picture with Harper and FOX 29's Bruce Gordon. Without that picture, Marion would have had room for her Hillary shot.

Fortunately, a man standing with Hillary Clinton offered to snap a photo and send it to Marion. He took the shot, but a day later, still no picture. That's when social media came into play.

Marion wrote up the incident on her Facebook page, then tweeted the story to her friends, followers, and to @Hillary-for-PA. A campaign staffer returned her call almost immediately; promising to track down the photo.

About a day later-- Sunday afternoon-- an email arrived, with a picture of Clinton, Harper and a very proud mom.

Technology helped Marion track down the one-in-a-lifetime photo, but without Harper's determination, there wouldn't be a photo to recover.

"She did not let anything deter her. And as a parent, I don't know that I could ask for anything else. It was really inspiring to watch and I'm just super-proud of my kid." her mother explained.