Stranger Returns Ricki Lake’s Priceless Photos She Thought Were Lost in the Palisades Fire
Ricki Lake is calling it nothing short of a miracle.
The beloved television personality was left stunned after a stranger reached out to her with an extraordinary discovery: a box of deeply personal photographs that Lake believed had been destroyed when her Malibu home burned down in the devastating Palisades fire earlier this year.
“You guys, the craziest thing happened,” Lake said emotionally while recounting the moment. “I can’t even process it. My words are not coming.”
A Flea Market Discovery Turns Extraordinary
The unexpected reunion began when artist Patty Scandan was browsing a flea market in Pasadena. Drawn to a collection of vintage photographs that she initially thought might inspire her next art project, Scandan soon realized the woman in the images looked familiar.
“I opened the pictures and the first one I saw was this one,” Scandan recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh, I love that woman’s face.’”
It wasn’t until she looked more closely at the photos at home that the realization hit her.
“All of a sudden I was like, ‘Wait a minute… I feel like I know her. That’s Ricki Lake.’”
One photo showed Lake holding her son Milo as a baby — now 28 years old — making the discovery even more personal.
A Race to Return What Was Lost
Understanding the significance of what she had found, Scandan took to social media in hopes of contacting the Hairspray icon. Her message quickly gained traction, and before long, she and Lake were connected.
Their emotional conversation was later shared on Instagram, where Lake expressed her disbelief and gratitude.
“These pictures are so priceless to me,” Lake said. “I thought I had lost all of these images in the fire in January. I truly believed they were gone forever.”
She explained that after the fire, she had made peace with the idea that her memories would live only in her heart and mind.
“But the fact that we found these,” she added, “is unbelievable.”
How the Photos Survived
As the two women pieced together how the photos ended up at a flea market, they concluded that Lake had likely sent them to a friend years earlier. From there, the images may have been sold during an estate sale, eventually finding their way into Scandan’s hands.
The timing made the discovery feel even more surreal.
“When I saw that you’d been through the fire, my heart was racing,” Scandan said. “I knew I had to contact her.”
Healing Through an Unexpected Miracle
Lake’s Malibu home was one of thousands lost in the Palisades fire in January — a tragedy she openly documented on social media as she navigated the immediate aftermath and emotional toll.
Now, months later, the return of the photos has brought a small but powerful sense of healing.
“I cannot thank you enough for your generosity,” Lake told Scandan. “Getting something back that I thought was lost forever — it makes me so happy.”
The moment is especially meaningful not only for Lake, but for her son, whose early memories are captured in the recovered images.
In the wake of profound loss, the experience has reminded Lake — and her fans — that sometimes, even after devastation, pieces of the past can find their way home.
