‘One-in-a-million chance’: Calgary couple reunited with lost SD card containing travel photos

Calgary couple Scott Simpson and Nicole Robertson, pictured in this undated handout photo, lost their camera's SD card around Lake Minnewanka on Oct. 2. It sat on a rock for a whole day, untouched, until a hiker came across it and posted about it in a local Facebook group. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Nicole Robertson (Mandatory Credit)

A Calgary couple is in disbelief after a hiker found their lost memory card full of travel photos from around the world.

Nicole Robertson and her partner, Scott Simpson, moved to Canada last month from the United Kingdom after quitting their jobs in 2023 to travel.

The two were walking along Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park on Oct. 2 when they think the SD card fell out of a camera bag.

Simpson says they believe the card sat on a rock for a whole day before a hiker came across it and posted the find on a local Facebook group they happened to be part of.

Among the many photos on the card were memories from their travels in Southeast Asia, Europe and all across Canada during a previous trip, including the Rockies, Vancouver Island and Niagara Falls.

The couple say they were able to retrieve the card from the hiker on Oct. 12 and gave her chocolates and biscuits as a thank you.

“I just, I can’t believe it, really,” Simpson said. “It’s literally like a one-in-a-million chance.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2025.

Fatima Raza, The Canadian Press