The search is on to try and locate a city bus driver who was featured in a now-viral video of the driver and a young girl dancing their hearts out to a Taylor Swift song.
About two years ago, photographer Brette-Ashley posted a video to Facebook of her daughter, Emerson, as she was exiting a bus in Orlando.
Emerson’s jam at the time was “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift, and when the girl heard the music on the bus, she let the driver know how much she loved the song.
“Favorite moment from our trip so far,” Brette-Ashley captioned the video.
“Before getting off the bus Emerson went up to our bus driver and said ‘this is my favorite song’!!!”
The driver cranked up the music and danced his heart out with a huge grin on his face, all while remaining seated.
Emerson, wearing a cute black-and-white dress that twirled as she danced, gave an impromptu performance alongside the driver.
The Rochester, New York-based photographer was delighted over the driver’s kindness and enthusiasm toward her daughter.
“I’m sure he has a crazy schedule to keep but he stopped everything and blasted the music as loud as he could and well … they both jammed out to #taylorswift ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ Thank you Mr. Bus Driver for making our little girls day !!! #heartbreakersgonnabreak #shakeitoff #feelgoodmoment #spreadkindness,” Brette-Ashley concluded.
Two years later, the video has suddenly gone viral, with over 2.6 million views.
“My phone is blowing up … apparently this video of Emerson is going viral all the sudden!!!” Brette-Ashley wrote in a Feb. 21 Facebook post.
“How crazy would it be if @theellenshow @taylorswift could track this amazing guy down for spreading so much joy,” she wrote.
In the comments section of Brette-Ashley’s post, viewers became detectives, trying to figure out the identity of the driver.
Brette-Ashley gave viewers a few clues to help — that her family had been in Orlando, Florida, and was returning from Sea World when they met the driver.
A Facebook user named Tara Duprez may have cracked the case, giving Brette-Ashley a name with a link that has since been deleted.
“His name is Fred,” Duprez wrote on the photographer’s post.
Brette-Ashley told Duprez she sent Fred a message, meaning this puzzle may soon be solved.
Either way, the video is a joy to all who have viewed it, showing the sweet connection that can happen when you pair an enthusiastic kid and her favorite song with an equally-enthusiastic adult willing to play along.