In 1987, when he was 5 years old, Saroo Brierley and his brother spent the day, as usual, begging on the streets of India. They got on a train to go home, but fell asleep. When they woke up 10 hours later, they were on the other side of the country. They tried to get home, but other troubles ensued. Brierley eventually was declared an orphan and ended up being adopted by a couple in Australia. He finally found his way back home 25 years later, with the help of Google Earth.

The Mercury, an Australian newspaper, reports that Brierley was determined to track down his family, and he surfed the Internet for clues. “Using Google Earth, I spent so many hours zooming in and out looking for something I recognized,” he told the newspaper. He remembered the Khandwa train station and surrounding area, which he eventually found on Google Earth.

He then joined a Facebook group for his home town Ganesh Talai and managed to piece together the details by emailing members of the group. He booked his plane ticket and went to the town, scouring streets until he found his family.