On Feb. 7, Carrie Gagliano came to Facebook with a plea for help.
Her father, Michael Gagliano, had recently passed away and upon visiting the nursing home to collect his things, Carrie Gagliano noticed one of his most prized possessions was missing: a custom-made LSU jacket.
The next day, she went to TikTok to ask for help in finding her father’s jacket. In the now viral video, Carrie Gagliano explained that she and her sister were told the jacket was donated to Goodwill in Denham Springs, only to learn the jacket had already been sold.
The Gaglianos then decided to utilize social media in order to find the person who bought the jacket and pay for its return. Carrie Gagliano, a Louisiana teacher, usually posts about her school day on Tiktok, especially her lunch, but she decided to come to what she calls her TikTok family and ask for help.
“It was really the most treasured possession he had,” she said in videos made about the jacket, explaining the story behind it and what it meant to her father.
Michael Vincent Gagliano, or “Bubba” as many called him, was an LSU alumnus and lover of music. He was a member of LSU’s Golden Band from Tigerland and a cofounder of Kappa Kappa Psi’s LSU chapter, a fraternity for university band members. Carrie Gagliano mentioned how he was also one of the founders of the Court Jesters, a group of band members who would play music at basketball games.
According to Carrie Gagliano, her father’s time at LSU and with the LSU Band were some of his life’s greatest moments, which is why the jacket is so important. Made for him in the 90s, the jacket is a symbol of his time at LSU and the legacy he left behind.
On Feb. 10, Justin Danger Nunley, a TikTok creator, saw Carrie’s video and responded by promising $500 to anyone who could return the jacket to the Gagliano family. After Nunley posted his TikTok, people began to add money to the reward, bringing its total up to $5000.
Other Louisiana content creators came together to spread the word about the jacket and add money to the reward. In a turn of events, on Feb. 12, Nunley posted a video on his TikTok saying, “Carrie, I think I have something that belongs to you.”
A day later, Nunley made a storytime video explaining how he got the jacket back. He talked about dealing with scammers but before long someone sent him and Carrie Gagliano a photo of the jacket, saying they hoped to return it.
Nunley lives four hours away from Baton Rouge, where the jacket holder was. Still, he decided to drive the entire way to verify that the jacket was the real thing and ensure the Gagliano family received it. At the end of Nunley’s video, he said, “It’s a happy ending, and I love happy endings.”
Less than a week after the original Facebook post, the beloved jacket was found and returned to the Gagliano family.
The jacket holder wanted to return the jacket immediately after discovering the Gaglianos’ story, even rejecting the reward money. But Nunley insisted, and the money is now allowing the finder and their family, who suffer from unspecified health conditions, to improve their quality of life. In a video on her TikTok, Carrie Gagliano said she was glad someone with a good heart found the jacket.
On Feb. 12, Carrie Gagliano made her final update about the journey to find the jacket, ending the saga by writing, “our hearts are overflowing with love and gratitude.”
