News Photographer Finds Lost iPad That Disappeared in Snowstorm

A photographer has finally recovered his iPad months after losing it in a snowbank while covering a January winter storm, just as spring arrives.

12 News photographer Brian Felsenthal lost his iPad while covering a major snowstorm in Cranston, Rhode Island, earlier this year. The January winter storm dumped 12 to 18 inches of snow across the region.

According to a report by 12 News, Felsenthal finally discovered the device after the arrival of the Spring season began to melt away the snow.

After realising he had lost his iPad while covering the snowstorm, the photographer first searched through the news car, his backpack, and his camera bag to find the iPad, but to no avail. But with the help of Apple’s “Find My” app, Felsenthal eventually located his iPad buried outside the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA). The photographer initially returned to the parking lot to search the snowbanks for the iPad, but was unsuccessful.

“I realized I was in over my head at this point because I was trying to find a needle in a haystack,” Felsenthal tells 12 News.

Determined to locate the iPad, he reportedly posted on Facebook asking for help.

“Anyone have a metal detector I could borrow for a day? I lost something, and I think it’s in a snowbank. I’d like to try and find it,” the photographer wrote on Facebook.

According to the report by 12 News, East Providence resident Gene Silva responded to Felsenthal’s Facebook post within minutes, and the pair spent several hours searching the snowbanks without success.

“We gave it our best,” Silva tells the news outlet. “Hopefully, when the snow melts, it will show up.”

Felsenthal continued checking the site as the snow melted, and on March 12, 2026, he finally recovered his iPad on top of a nearly melted snowbank outside RIEMA.

“She’s not in the best shape,” Felsenthal tells the news outlet, noting that the screen was smashed and the top ripped off, exposing the front-facing camera.

The photographer calls the entire experience of losing his iPad in a snowstorm “an emotional rollercoaster.” Felsenthal also says the iPad no longer works, and he plans to “put her to rest.” The photographer tells 12 News that the experience taught him two important lessons: respect Mother Nature and keep a close eye on personal belongings.