It was 20 years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, devastating cities and towns across Louisiana and Mississippi. Nearly 1400 people lost their lives and – adjusted for inflation – it remains the most costly hurricane in U.S. history.

For countless families and individuals, life was changed forever, and negative impacts are still close at hand. But occasionally instances of good come out of even the worst events.

Such was the case when a student ID card that was lost during the storm was returned to its owner at Katrina’s twentieth anniversary.

Driven to solve the mystery, Copeland posted a photo on the high school’s alumni page. It did not take long for people to respond.

While walking a stretch of beach at Gulf Islands National Seashore, park ranger Becky Copeland spotted something in the sand. She unearthed a small piece of history — a beaten but intact student ID card buried below the surface.

"It was so dark and weathered, but still intact," Copeland says during an interview with CBC Radio's As It Happens.

At first, the card seemed like just another item for her collection of unusual finds such as messages in bottles. The only visible clues were the year 1969 and the name of a high school in Birmingham, Alabama.

Unfortunately, the name of the cardholder was no longer visible so Copeland assumed its owner would forever remain a mystery. But recently, while rearranging her collection, she was stunned to see the faded lettering had become legible.

The card belonged to Cathy Hamel, who graduated in 1973.

Driven to solve the mystery, Copeland posted a photo on the high school’s alumni page. It did not take long for people who knew Hamel to respond.

From Katrina’s fury to a heartfelt reunion

Hamel had moved to a small town on the Mississippi coast years before Hurricane Katrina washed away the entire community.  The night before the storm, she evacuated to house further inland, but even there the storm surge reached her in the attic. Thankfully, she made it through.

When she returned the following day, her home was completely gone — reduced to a concrete slab and a porch swing hanging from a tree. The few belongings she saved were two photo albums and some insurance papers.

But two decades later, her student ID card that had been lost to the storm resurfaced.

The beachcombing park ranger, Copeland met Hamel at the Gulf Islands National Seashore visitor center, and they embraced immediately.

Hamel called Copeland an angel, “because she did all the legwork to find me to return it."

For Hamel, the recovered ID is far more than a plastic card –  it’s a tangible reminder of resilience, loss, and the kindness of strangers.