This Teen Found Her Friend After The Manchester Attack Via Twitter And People Are Moved

    "Seeing tweets like these are tiny lights within this dark, horrible tragedy."

    by
    Ikran Dahir
    by Ikran Dahir

    BuzzFeed News Reporter

    ,
    Rachael Krishna
    by Rachael Krishna

    BuzzFeed News Reporter

    This is 14-year-old Vicky Bates from St Helens, which lies between Manchester and Liverpool.

    Vicky Bates / Via Twitter: @RileyBlackery

    Bates

    Bates told BuzzFeed News that her friend Heather came down from Scotland on Sunday to hang out. Heather then headed to Ariana Grande's Manchester concert alone on Monday night.

    Twitter: @RileyBlackery

    Bates said that after a friend called to tell her about the attack late Monday she tried desperately to get in touch with Heather.

    "I immediately panicked and spent hours trying to contact her," she said. "Her phone had died and she was alone, so we had no way to contact her."

    She put out a desperate plea for help on Twitter, asking users for assistance in tracking down her missing friend.

    Just after midnight, 17-year-old Nathan Lamb tweeted at Bates to let her know Heather was safe. "She's safe, we're at a premier inn right now on Medlock street," Lamb wrote. "We saw her on the street and her phone was dead so we let her stay with us."

    Twitter: @nathanlamb26

    "A few hours after my tweet went viral, a man replied to the tweet saying that she was fine and it was a huge relief," said Bates.

    Bates said that Heather has since returned home to Scotland: "She's exhausted, and so many people are asking to interview her when all she wants is privacy."

    Both Heather and Lamb posted on Twitter that they did not wish to speak with reporters.

    "Our hopes and prayers are currently with the victims and their families," Bates told BuzzFeed News. "It's hard to believe that it's happening after hitting so close to home."

    Since Bates's tweet went viral, people have been moved by the way Twitter was used to find Heather.

    Twitter: @wtvrkatelyn

    Many praised the power of social media...

    lila 26 / 65 @gunsxforxhands

    never tell me that social media is pointless https://t.co/x7HbB0dau6

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    And found comfort in the kindness of strangers.

    James carter @DjJamescarter

    @wtvrkatelyn @georgia_shx How great humans and social media can be

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    "Humanity is awesome," this woman wrote.

    Malinda K Reese @missmalindakat

    humanity is awesome https://t.co/71zSky4FRM

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    Twitter: @missmalindakat

    "Tweets like these are tiny lights within this dark, horrible tragedy," another wrote.

    Macy Lanceta @Hey_its_macy

    Seeing tweets like these are tiny lights within this dark, horrible tragedy https://t.co/gZqdza4fkw

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    UPDATE

    BuzzFeed News has removed pictures of Heather from this article at the request of her family.