Strangers online rush to comfort woman after her 78-year-old mom went missing during hurricane
"Please, angels. Get her through this."

People used Twitter to comfort woman who couldn't reach her 78-year-old mom after Hurricane Ian.
After Hurricane Ian plowed through Fort Myers, Florida, people began sifting through the rubble, desperately searching for family members they hadn't been able to reach. Beth Booker was one of them.
Booker's 78-year-old mother, Carole McDanel, lives in Fort Myers and didn't evacuate as she didn't think the storm would hit the beach town. But it did, and when Booker saw pictures of her mom's house underwater, she took to Twitter to try to locate her mother.
Booker put out a desperate plea on the social media platform on September 28: "I have never felt more helpless in my life. I called my mom and it went to voicemail. I’m praying that she put her phone on airplane mode to save battery. So scared. Can’t stop shaking." The distraught daughter went on to say, "Please, angels. Get her through this. I can’t believe this is happening." After essentially putting her desperate cries into the void of the internet, she reached people from around the country who got to work offering prayers, tips and suggestions on how to try to contact her elderly mother.
\u201cI have never felt more helpless in my life. I called my mom and it went to voicemail. I\u2019m praying that she put her phone on airplane mode to save battery. So scared. Can\u2019t stop shaking.\n\nPlease, angels. Get her through this. \n\nI can\u2019t believe this is happening.\u201d— Beth Booker (@Beth Booker) 1664396221
After a natural disaster like a hurricane, cellphone service can be hard to come by as cell towers can be taken down by the storm, and several Twitter users pointed this out. Someone else suggested that Booker fill out a "shelter in place" form for her mother so officials knew to account for her.
Booker began using the hashtag #GetCaroleHome as a means to have everyone's efforts in one easy-to-find place after her mother stopped updating her. The fear that Booker felt after losing contact with her mother is unimaginable. The last update Booker had was of her mother's house becoming submerged in water, so fearing the worst was not a far leap in this situation.
\u201cStorm surge outside of my moms house on Fort Myers Beach.\n\nI\u2019m so sick.\u201d— Beth Booker (@Beth Booker) 1664389424
In a follow up video on Twitter, Booker said, "You see this kind of stuff happen on the news. You see this on social media. You see it happen in other cities and you know it can happen here when you live in Florida. We all know that, but when it's actually happening to you, it is honestly unbelievable."
Thankfully, rescue efforts were underway a few hours later and according to Good Morning America, Booker's husband and his friend went out in a boat in hopes of finding the elderly woman. Fortunately, the two men located the missing woman right in her house on the couch where she rode out the storm.
Booker posted an emotional update on her Twitter page letting her followers know that her mother had been located and was safe. The embrace between mother and daughter in the picture is heartwarming.
\u201cHome. \n\nSafe.\n\nNot a scratch.\n\nGrateful. \n\n#GetCaroleHome, we did it.\u201d— Beth Booker (@Beth Booker) 1664498870
Disaster relief efforts are still underway in Florida as communities work to salvage what they can from their properties. Hopefully there are many more happy endings to come from other families looking for their loved ones, but for now, it sure feels good to know that Carole is home safe and a daughter's worries are put to rest.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."