Belgian student travels 5,000 miles to Austin to meet Facebook friend suggestion

A Belgian student and his friend traveled to Austin to meet Neal Retke, a man who was suggested as a friend on Facebook. A Belgian student and his friend traveled to Austin to meet Neal Retke, a man who was suggested as a friend on Facebook. Photo: Facebook/Vimeo Photo: Facebook/Vimeo Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Belgian student travels 5,000 miles to Austin to meet Facebook friend suggestion 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

A student from Belgium traveled across the world to Austin to meet a person twice his age that Facebook suggested as a friend without ever communicating with the man — and it worked.

The 24-year-old student, Victor Van Rossem, received a friend suggestion on his Facebook for 49-year-old Neal D. Retke, a person Rossem had no connection with besides a mutual acquaintance, the Daily Mail reported.

Van Rossem found Retke interesting after browsing through his photos and thought he had a diverse set of hobbies and likings.

“I became fascinated by him. He had a long beard and looked a little unusual,” Van Rossem told the Daily Mail. “He looked like someone I wanted to meet — a very eccentric person.”

The student sent Retke a message, but the Austin resident didn’t respond. So Van Rossem made the 5,000-mile trip along with a friend to ask him in person if the two men could be friends.

The two Belgians searched for a week, putting posters up on many streets and asking people if they knew Retke. They also made a short documentary chronicling the trip, which can be viewed at the end of the gallery above.

They also made shirts that read “Neal D Retke for President!” in order to get the word out to passersby. They finally found him at a book signing and were very nervous when they first saw him.

“We didn’t know how he would react — but after we explained the whole thing he just laughed and said ‘well, you found’ as if he was expecting us,” Van Rossem said.

The three men ended up spending three weeks together. Retke may even be visiting the two students in Belgium next summer.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite