Missing Camera Traced 6,000 Miles From Home

The American owner of a diving camera which was lost in Hawaii in 2007 has been traced after it was found last month on a beach in Taiwan.

The waterproof Canon camera was spotted by Douglas Chen, an employee of Taiwanese airline China Airlines, while he was strolling along a beach at Taitung on Taiwan's east coast.

Inside the barnacle-encrusted camera was a still-intact memory card with photos of owner Lindsay Crumbley Scallan's Hawaii visit still visible.

It was through the memory card that Mr Cheng was able to identify from where the camera had actually been lost.

He then went out of his way to trace the camera back to its owner, who lives more than 6,000 miles away in the US.

She had been diving in Maui during a summer break when she lost the camera.

The airline then contacted its Honolulu staff who drew significant media attention with their search.

Ms Scallan, who lives in Georgia and has now been told of the extraordinary find, has been offered a free round-trip ticket to Taiwan to collect her lost property.

"Ms Scallan is welcome to visit Taiwan so that she can take home the invaluable memories of her trip to Hawaii," said airline official Lee Wen-yi.