Hikers find harmonica, seek to reunite family, heirloom

Two years ago, Robert and Donna Williams spotted something shiny in the woods beside a hiking trail.

Now they want to reunite an Aiken father and daughter with the lost family heirloom.

In October 2007, the Williamses were hiking on a trail in Oconee State Park near Mountain Rest when they stopped to admire a waterfall in an area called Pigpen Falls.

A man and his daughter walked off the trail and struck up a conversation with the couple.

"The man said his 10-year-old daughter had her great-grandfather's harmonica, and she had dropped it. They asked if we had seen it," Robert said. "We hadn't, but I said, 'Give me your phone number in case we find it.' The man said, 'Nah. We have already looked so much for it.' But we were determined to find it."

The man and his daughter described the family heirloom as a wooden and tin harmonica.

"They said their names were Tom and Gabriella from Aiken," Robert said.

The Williamses continued on the trail after parting ways from Tom and Gabriella and soon saw the sun glinting off a shiny object in the grass.

"We couldn't believe we found it after we had offered to take down their name and number. You wouldn't believe how cool it was to find it," Robert said.

The Williamses went to campsites in the area searching for Tom and Gabriella. They asked everyone; they left notes under windshield wipers of cars but no luck.

Robert said it was like the two had just disappeared.

"We thought we had them," he said.

When they couple returned home to the Spartanburg area, they were astonished to learn they could not locate the harmonica. They were sure they had packed it with them.

It wasn't until about two weeks ago that they found the harmonica again while packing for another hike. It had been in a bag all along.

They are determined to return the harmonica to its rightful owners.

"It has been laying on my mind for a while," Robert said. "This whole time this little girl's heart has been broken thinking she lost the harmonica."

Robert would like anyone who may have some information on Tom and Gabriella to call him at (864) 469-0171.