Photographer finds mystery proposal couple 8 years later

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A Florida photographer has finally found the couple whose engagement she unexpectedly captured in photos more than eight years ago.

Joy Groover said Texas couple David and Ashley Barnosky reached out to her over Facebook after a friend saw a TV news report about the photographer's search for the mystery couple whose proposal she caught on camera.

Groover said she was taking Christmas photos with her family at Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach when she spotted David Barnosky down on one knee to pop the question. She snapped photos of the couple, but they left before she could introduce herself or get their names.

Groover has been posting the photos on Facebook on Dec. 12 of each successive year in the hopes of finding the couple, and Ashley Barnosky was tipped off by a friend who saw a report about Groover's search on the news.

"I was incredibly thankful for the pictures. For a moment we had never seen. We didn't have that moment captured," Ashley Barnosky told WPBF-TV.

Groover said she is glad to finally close the book on her eight-year search.

"Now what happens? I thought about that a lot. I think what happens is now, I look back on December 12th with fond memories and not frustration. Now that they have the photos I kind of feel like that was the bow on the Christmas present," she said.