Florida

YouTube Video Reunites Family With Missing Mom

A 10-year-old boy found his missing mom after spotting her in a video he was watching on YouTube

A random stroke of good luck helped a Florida boy reunite his father with his mother who went missing in November and had been presumed dead, thanks to a YouTube video.

Evan Olsen, 10, said he was on YouTube with a friend and randomly clicked on a video of YouTube sensation Brooke Roberts feeding the homeless on Los Angeles' Skid Row when he recognized his mother.

"Now that I've found my mom, I'm the happiest kid alive," said Evan.

Evan told his dad, Eddie Olsen, who jumped out of the shower and confirmed that it was Evan's mother, who is homeless. Eddie Olsen and Evan’s mother were in a relationship when they had Evan.

"He hugged me tighter than he's ever hugged me in his life and I could feel all those past days disappear," Eddie said of his son.

Eddie emailed Roberts, 19, who said he initially thought the email was a joke, but wound up scouring Skid Row with Eddie and Evan in search of Evan's mom this week.

"I'm still in shock," Roberts said. "I wake up every day and ask, 'was it a dream?'"

After hours of searching, Eddie found his ex-girlfriend, but while she recognized him, she didn’t want to return to Florida with them. She suffers from schizophrenia.

Eddie gave her clothes, letters from Evan and other family members, paid for a hotel room and a cellphone to stay in contact with the family.

Eddie returned to Florida, while the mother remained on Skid Row, he said.

Eddie said he would like for her to return and get the medication she needs.

Evan is hopeful.

"I know that she wants to come back and come home," said Evan, who also started a gofundme page. "I know that she would love to do that.”

He said he talks with her by phone every night before going to bed.

Eddie credits Roberts with helping make the connection.

"There's no way I could ever repay what he's done for me," he said.

Roberts feels blessed.

"I'm still in contact with Eddie every single day and we're still crying on the phone," said Roberts.

Contact Us