How an Austin thrift store find sparked search for 1966 wedding couple

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A routine thrifting trip for one Austinite turned into a mystery spanning back decades.

Katie Ornelas has been slowly building out her family's record collection, accumulating vinyl records from local thrift stores in town. A few months ago, she purchased "The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn," a live album recorded in 1956.

In place of the smooth sounds of jazz, she instead was greeted by prayers and the wedding vows of "Phil and Donna," a couple married on Aug. 21, 1966.

"We put it on, and we were just instantly, just connected with that record and wanted to make sure it found its way back to its family, because it was in a different sleeve [than the vinyl cover]," she said. "So we anticipated that it's probably missing its owners."

Ornelas said she visited several thrift stores that day, including Goodwill and an Austin Pets Alive! thrift shop. With so many donations coming into those stores, she said it's hard for them to track down who donated specific items.

At first, Ornelas said she felt a bit awkward about having the record and listening in on such an intimate and personal moment. But the more she's heard their voices and the joy of that day, she said she's even more determined to try and reunite the record with its owners.

"My favorite part of the record is at the very end, when they break the glass and the friends and family of the couple start to cheer," she said. "We have two daughters, 13 and 11, and we've just been really connecting with it and I've been thinking about that couple a lot and hoping that we get this treasured family item back to them."

The Travis County Clerk told KXAN it did several searches of its wedding records system as well as a wider inquiry, and weren't able to find any couple names matching the wedding date. The office added they think the couple might've gotten married outside of Texas -- adding to the mystery of how, exactly, this wedding record landed in an Austin thrift store.

"We hope that our family is a part of maybe getting that back to people, who Phil and Donna mean a lot to them," Ornelas said.