Man with Girl in Viral Pic Taken in Front of Notre Dame an Hour before the Fire Was Finally Found

The father and daughter tandem caught in a viral photo, dancing in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral before it caught on fire was finally found and identified after searching for three days.

Three days ago, a Twitter user, Brooke Windsor, began her search to find the father and daughter she caught on photo in a beautiful moment in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Finally, she found them.

Windsor announced the good news on her Twitter account on Thursday, saying that she found the man and his child, but couldn’t disclose their names as they wished to remain anonymous. The man contacted Windsor via Twitter upon seeing his viral photo.

“Thanks again for that beautiful photo, we will find a special place for it,” says the man.

BEFORE THE TRAGEDY

The adorable photo of a father and his toddler went viral, as they were seen dancing, with the father lifting his daughter, in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral, before it caught on fire.

Windsor explained that she was able to take a photo of the sweet moment during her visit to the cathedral and initially wanted to ask the father if he wished to the have photo, but didn’t.

After the catastrophe that happened, she changed her mind and tried to find the man on Twitter. The post quickly went viral, gaining close to 500,000 likes and received over 225,000 retweets, before reaching the man.

HOURS ABLAZE

The fire broke out only an hour after the photo was captured on Monday evening, and spread quickly, while firefighters spent hours trying to put out the fire. Tourists and citizens watched the most historic church slowly burn down, knowing there was not much they could do to help.

As people flooded the streets to watch the horrible sight, a crowd began to sing “Ave Maria” near the cathedral, says a Paris resident to PEOPLE.

THE AFTERMATH

Notre Dame, one of the most beautiful and historic churches, housed priceless pieces of art and holy relics for about 850 years. Although some were saved, others burned in the fire.

Authorities confirmed that numerous major artifacts were saved, such as the Crown of Thorns, the Tunic of Saint Louis, and many more. Additionally, the 18th-century organ and famous Virgin Mary statue were spared from the tragedy.

The iconic structure of the cathedral’s roof was destroyed, including the towering spire that attracted tourists. Investigations link the fire to be from the constructions going on inside the church.

REBUILDING HISTORY

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, gave a speech after the fire on Monday, promising to rebuild what was lost in history that day.

“It is with pride I tell you tonight we will rebuild this cathedral. We will rebuild Notre Dame because it is what the French expect of us, it is what our history deserves; it is, in the deepest sense, our destiny,” Macron said.

Different people from across the globe paid homage to the cathedral that was burnt, including former President Barack Obama, who Tweeted his sentiments in a time of pain.

“Notre Dame is one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief. It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost -- but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can,” he tweeted.