SukritiThe Search Begins
It started 5 years after the hug, Maroney wanted to meet the girl who took him through the roughest of moments. And in the search of this girl, the sergeant posted on the social media websites about his story hoping that he might find the little girl. Sadly, social media doesn’t help every time and hence his attempt failed with just 42 likes. He even tweeted on Oprah but didn’t receive any reply from there as well.
Social Media Success
Although Maroney ’s initial attempts failed, he still tried again and again. He kept on posting later also many times. But again, nothing really seemed to be working. When the social media platforms proved no help to Maroney, a teen named Andrew Goard was very moved by the military especially the pararescue specialists like Maroney. He started a page in order to raise more awareness about the work they do. This page had more than 3,000 followers. When Andrew got to know about this post, he shared it on his Instagram page. Yet Maroney didn’t meet the girl and now he was doubtful if there were chances that she would never notice this post.
Viral
The girl didn’t show up even after the post was shared by Andrew on his page. Apparently, the Air Force Times heard of Maroney’s story and all the campaign that he initiated. They published an article about Maroney’s search for the little girl and luckily this time the post went viral.
#FindKatrinaGirl
10 years after the incident, Maroney’s attempts were now known by many. Andrew took the viral news a step ahead by adding a hashtag “FindKatrinaGirl.” When a TV show producer saw the story of this soldier, they started looking for the Katrina girl. The cast of a TV show named The Real found out the girl and they called Maroney for the meeting that has been fixed on The Real sets.
Producers Make Connections
The Real is a kind of awareness show where a group of women comes together to discuss several topics and life experiences. Maroney’s story made the producers emotional and they wanted this to help them raise their show’s ratings. Hence, once they found the “Katrina Girl”, both Maroney and the girl were invited to the show meet.
Who Is Katrina Girl?
When the hurricane hit her home, she was just 3 years old. Now after 10 years, nobody knew what she looks like but thanks to the social media and the producers’ efforts, she was there on the show waiting to meet Maroney. The girl was now 13 years old and recently started her high school. She lived in Mississippi and her name was LeShay Brown.