An Ariana Grande concert goer who got separated from her friend in the commotion of the Manchester blast was found safe later that night, thanks to the help of strangers and a social media movement on Twitter that was launched to track her down.
16-year-old Heather was located after her friend, Riley, tweeted a photo of her wearing a yellow sweatshirt.
More than 28,000 users on the social media platform retweeted the image of Heather, with many offering suggestions on how to find her.
“My friend Heather was at the Ariana concert,” Riley wrote in the caption. “She’s wearing a yellow hoodie and I cant get hold of her. If anyones [sic] seen her please let me know.”
An hour later, Nathan Lamb, 17, replied to Riley: “She’s with us at our hotel,” he wrote.
She came down from Scotland on her own, shes only 16 and her phone’s switched off, she may be around the Premier Inn area
— Riley // (@RileyBlackery) May 22, 2017
UPDATE: I called the local Holiday Inn and she isn’t there.
— Riley // (@RileyBlackery) May 22, 2017
She’s with us at our hotel https://t.co/roSfVSTYiY
— Nathan (@nathanlamb26) May 22, 2017
Heather traveled from Scotland to Manchester, England, on her own to attend the Ariana Grande concert. Riley took to social media after she and Heather got separated.
Soon, Lamb replied to Riley with a photo of her friend.
“She’s safe,” he wrote. “...we saw her on the street and her phone was dead so we let her stay with us.”
@RileyBlackery She’s safe, we’re at a premier inn right now on Medlock street, we saw her on the street and her phone was dead so we let her stay with us pic.twitter.com/iPY3K8sk1b
— Nathan (@nathanlamb26) May 22, 2017
Riley then updated Twitter users: “We got [a] hold of her, she’s safe!! She’s okay.”
After the attack, an overwhelming outpour began on social media, where users were offering up extra rooms, beds and food under the hashtag #RoomForManchester. Many people also took to Twitter in response to pleas for information about missing friends and loved ones.