Editors note: Kelley Balcomb-Bartok is the son of Ken Balcomb and nephew of Howard Garrett, two key participants in this story and efforts to return the whale in this report to the Pacific Northwest, and was also involved in efforts to release her during the 90s.
Springer was separated from her family in the early 2000s at a young age. A researcher was able to help reunite her with her pod by using the sound of whale calls.