Social media helps girlfriend of Oakland fire victim find picture she needed to grieve

On Dec. 4, Saya Tomioka posted a plea to Facebook to help her find a picture of her kissing her boyfriend, Griffen Maddens, a victim of the Oakland warehouse fire in hopes of a "facebook miracle," and social media delivered. "This morning I remembered the first time I went to Times Square, June 16 of 2015." I cried, and we kissed. "I've always longed to find this particular photograph and thank the photographer," she wrote, "Friends, possibly with your help, I can be reunited with this photograph," she continued, asking the post's viewers to please share. After receiving over 300 shares, the post was sent to New York-based photographer, Arken Avan, who decided to thoroughly search his archive. He found the picture Tomioka was looking for, and posted the beautiful image to Instagram. Griffin was one of 36 who died in the fire earlier this month. "For a memory of Griffin Madden," the photographer wrote in the caption. "Luckily, I found their beautiful image and was so happy I found it and photographed their beautiful moment," Avan said. Tomioka continued the tribute, writing the photo helped bring "a glimpse of [Griffin's] light back into my life."