Nicholas Simmons, Missing Man, Reunited With Family Thanks to Photo and 'God's Divine Intervention'
A family from Greece, N.Y., is thanking God after their missing relative, Nicholas Simmons, was spotted in a photograph posted by a media outlet over the weekend.
Nicholas Simmons, a 20-year-old man, was last seen leaving his family's home on Cider Creek Lane by car on New Year's Day. He was recovered by his family four days later after a photographer for The Associated Press snapped Simmons' photo as he lay huddled in the cold in Washington, D.C. The photo was then printed in a USA Today story covering the east coast's cold temperatures, and Nicholas' parents, Paul and Michelle, were alerted of the photo through a Facebook page they had set up to find their missing son.
"Nick is alive and obviously not well. [We] are going to get him home safe and this is by far the greatest example of God's love and divine intervention I have ever experienced. I am beyond able to put into words how I am feeling," Michelle Simmons wrote on the public Facebook page shortly before Washington police discovered the homeless-looking 20-year-old. The Facebook page appears to have been dismantled since Nick was recovered.
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Michelle Simmons reportedly wrote in a later post: "GOD took that photo, GOD made us find him … it could have been months before we had a lead on his whereabouts. My baby looks so lost and I will be spending the rest of my life making him well."
Jacquelyn Martin, an Associated Press photographer, had reportedly spent the first weekend in January documenting the cold weather that had hit Washington, D.C. She had snapped photos of homeless people huddled up around the U.S. Capitol building, and had taken particular notice of a young man wearing a navy ski jacket and a grey blanket lying down near the Federal Trade Commission. She told AP that she noticed how young the man looked, and introduced herself and asked if she could take his picture. He allowed her to, saying only that his name was "Nick," and declining to give a last name.
Greece police Sgt. David Mancuso, who was leading the case to find Nick, told AP that the young man's story is "truly a miracle. It was pure dumb luck how all this happened."
After Nicholas' parents learned of his photo on Sunday, Washington authorities scoured the streets to find the missing young man. The 20-year-old was reportedly discovered by Washington police late on Sunday, Jan. 5 near 6th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW. He was then taken to George Washington University Hospital as a precaution and reunited with his father and brother, who drove down from upstate New York that night to see him.
