When South Carolina resident April Bolt’s purse was stolen back in 1992, she never thought that she would see it again.

“I was crying,” Bolt remembered of the day she was robbed. “It wasn’t a whole lot of cash—maybe like $60. But a woman fits her whole life in her purse. It was devastating.”

Bolt was stunned when her purse, which contained precious photos of her infant son, was recently found in Lake Hartwell in Anderson after 25 years!

In July of 2017, Ben Myers was fishing with his 11-year-old nephew, Brodie Brooks, when they caught a muddied purse and reeled it in from the bottom of the 29-foot-deep lake.

“I get my net, and he gets it to the top of the water. All of a sudden, I see it’s a purse. I said ‘man you ain’t caught no fish, you caught a treasure!’” Myers said.

Inside the purse, Myers found long-expired credit cards, Clemson University-themed checks, an 80s-90s-style comb, lipstick, and baby photos. Myers was able to read the name “April Bolt” on one of the cards. In a surprising twist, Bolt is actually a friend of his family!

“She’s a friend of the family. I went to school with her nephew, but I hadn’t seen her in 10 years,” he said. “You fish up a purse for one, then you actually know whose it was. It was crazy.”

Myers made contact with Bolt through her nephew, and she was stunned by the find.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was lost for words,” said Bolt. “You never think you’d see it again.”

The find was especially meaningful for Bolt given the baby photos of her son that were inside the purse.

“It meant the world to me. My son is 26 now, but he was 15 months then, and I had all his photos that were professionally taken in my wallet. Back then, you didn’t have your cellphone with the pictures. They have water damage but you can make him out,” she said. “It’s precious to have all this back. Even in this condition. … I love it.”

We’re glad to see that she has her purse back after all these years! Find out more about this in the video below, and SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this as well!