A tourist from Texas in search of free Wi-Fi found himself locked inside a bookstore in London. Social media came to his rescue.

According to Mashable, Dallas resident David Willis stepped inside Waterstones bookstore just before 9 p.m. He says he went upstairs to use the free Wi-Fi but when he came back about 15 minutes later, the lights were off downstairs and the door was locked.

Willis posted a dark and grainy photo on Instagram to illustrate his predicament. He said by that point, he’d been trapped for over an hour. He triggered a security alarm and had talked to police. Someone was supposedly on the way to free him.

Another hour passed. Willis took to Twitter to make a direct plea to Waterstones.

Social media picked up on the tourist’s bookstore nightmare and began sharing his posts with the hashtag #waterstonestexan.

The social media S.O.S. finally worked, when an employee of the bookstore saw the posts. Willis was freed a little after midnight.

Waterstones and another bookstore in town offered humorous responses to the incident on their own Twitter accounts.

About the Author

Keep Reading

If the Senate's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passes, the 30% federal tax credits offered for clean energy installations — such as these solar panels being installed atop an Ellenwood home in 2022 — would be sunset by the end of 2025. (Jason Getz/AJC 2022)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Featured

People carrying a giant pride flag participate in the annual Pride Parade in Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez