Despite Tuesday's raging blizzard in Boston, a mystery man managed to shovel the iconic Boston Marathon finish line, a traditional scene of athletic celebration that became the site of a terror attack in April 2013.
Authorities have released photographs of a man shoveling a strip of snow on Boylston Street so that only the Boston Marathon finish line remains visible in a sea of white, ABC News reported. Since then, the internet has been abuzz with attempting to track down the person responsible for carrying out the small, but significant, deed.
Using the hashtag #WhoShoveledTheFinishLine, Boston Police asked the public to help solve the mystery of the unknown individual.
Around noon on Tuesday, Philip L. Hillman caught the scene while he was staying at the Charlesmark Hotel to ride out the storm and make sure he had power to do work.
He managed to catch the moment when he stepped over to look out the window. "I love this city. I love how people think. That little piece of Boylston Street is sacred ground for everyone," the 44-year-old, of Lincoln, said.
After Hillman posted the pictures on social media, the mystery man's gesture immediately sparked curiosity, with the images going viral.
As of Wednesday afternoon, however, the mysterious man with the shovel has not yet been identified, The Boston Globe reported.
Since the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three people two years ago, the finish line has become a site of special significance.
Meanwhile the fierce blizzard brought near-record snowfall totals in Boston and some parts of Massachusetts eclipsed the 2-foot mark. The state lifted a statewide vehicular travel ban on Tuesday night, according to New York Daily News.
On the other hand, New York City suffered merely a glancing blow, getting roughly 10 inches of snow - well short of forecasts that predicted an "historic" snowfall of up to 3 feet.
