Harvard police officer recreates 15-year-old photo with girl who's now a student

Dillon Thompson

A Harvard University police officer is going viral after having a heartwarming reunion with a girl he met 15 years ago.

Crystal Wang was 3 years old when she met Officer Charles Marren, CNN reported. At the time, she was visiting the university with her father, Jin, who was visiting Boston on a business trip.

The father and daughter were walking around campus and stumbled upon Marren, who ended up taking an adorable picture with Wang in his arms. Wang, however, didn't even remember that the 2004 photo happened.

She was reminded of Marren years later, when she was accepted into Harvard's dual degree program with the Berklee College of Music. Wang's dad showed her the photo and said she should try to find out if there was any chance Marren still worked for the university.

"In my mind, the likelihood of [finding him] was very low," Wang told CNN.

Much to Wang's surprise, officer Marren was still employed by the school. The 18-year-old posted the old photo to social media, and a reporter with the Harvard Gazette recognized the veteran police officer — who hardly seems to have aged a bit.

Wang hadn't even known Marren's name, but she was now able to track him down. The two reconnected on her move-in day this year and did their best to recreate the original photo.

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There are of course a few key differences between the two pictures. Wang, now a freshman in Harvard's class of 2023, is fully grown. Instead of sitting in Marren's arms, she's riding his motorcycle.

But the resemblance — especially with Marren wearing nearly the same uniform he did in 2004 — is clear. Some social media users were shocked at just how similar the police officer looked.

"Truly amazing. Wonderful pics. Officer Charles Marren has to be commended... for reversing the aging process," one commenter said.

The post now has more than 53,000 likes, but Wang said the reunion was about more than just a photo. Despite not remembering her first time meeting Marren, she told CNN she thought they shared a connection.

"It was just a really, really good time," she said. "I really connected with him."