Have you seen this man? Blake with boyfriend Turco, in another striking shirt. Photo / Facebook
Have you seen this man? Blake with boyfriend Turco, in another striking shirt. Photo / Facebook
Like a life-sized game of "Where's Wally?" intrigue ensued after a hapless visitor asked the internet to find her boyfriend
It's one thing to lose one's partner at Disney World but it's another thing to admit exactly how dysfunctional your relationship and begin asking strangers to keep track of yourboyfriend.
But that's exactly what Brittany Blake did on spring break to Florida's Walt Disney World Resort.
"Weird post but. . ." Britanny tasked the internet with tracking down her errant boyfriend. Photo / Facebook
Separated from her partner, whose phone battery was reportedly empty, she was at a loose end in the massive Epcot holiday park.
In desperation to find her AWOL beau, Regory Turco, Blake took to the Facebook group Annual Passholders — Walt Disney World Resort, asking:
"Weird post but lost my boyfriend in Epcot today and haven't been able to find him for hours because his phone is dead. If anyone sees him can they tell him to meet us at the Mexican pavillion?"
Have you seen this shirt? Within minutes Brittany Blake's post had galvanised the Facebook group into action. Photo / Facebook
Almost immediately, Disney-loving internet sleuths jumped into action.
Key clues included a photo of the couple taken earlier that day, showing Turco's striking Hawaiian patterned shirt and Blake's 'hunch' that he would be found near refreshments.
"PS — I'm the one who's nervous here because I hate being alone lmao. He's prob off drinking," she added to the post.
In just two hours 700 members from the Facebook group had replied to the post, with various leads and varying degrees of helpfulness.
"This is my favourite post ever in AP! #FINDREGORY #FINDBRITTANYBF," wrote one user, inspired by the adventure.
However the post attracted equal amounts of ridicule, with the theme park trolls made fun of Blake for losing her adult boyfriend.
Many suggested, Turco's disappearance may have been intentional. They thought it understandable that Turco might want to escape from the sort of overbearing girlfriend that organises a manhunt the moment he is out of her sight.
Meanwhile, the search continued.
Stich and matching threads: One user pointed out similaries to Turco's shirt. Photo / Facebook
Following one particular lead that later turned out to be a red herring, a user claimed to have found the Hawaiian shirt.
"I did not see him but Stitch has a similar shirt on," read the comment.
It transpires that the character from the Disney film Lilo and Stitch just happened to have a very similar taste in clothing.
As time rapidly ran out, there was still no sign of Turco.
With just 15 minutes until park closing time, Blake was still none the wiser as to where he was.
"Well? Did Brittany find him?" asked one concerned person.
Fairytale ending: Turco, right, was spotted and reunited with Brittany minutes before closing time. Photo / Facebook
However, with minutes to spare, a user shared a picture of the elusive boyfriend, in line at the Frozen ride.
"Update on my boyfriend: Found on the Frozen ride. He was drinking all day while looking for me," Blake alerted the missing boyfriend thread. "BTW: thanks for everyone's nice comments!"
At the close of a 1300 message rescue mission, it seemed like a fairy tale ending.
But not everyone was as amused by the picture perfect denouement in the 'Happiest Place on Earth'.
