If I was you, I'd ask him also if he has an ETA until he gets to his parents house. And I think I'd also ask him how is it possible for his parents to not have in 2020 a phone equipped with a camera, thus they could take the pic for him. Or ask if they also don't have at least a regular camera, to take the picture with and send it via email.
Of course, it occurred to me, but I honestly did not want to go into any further discussions because the possible answer could be that his parents are not accustomed to technology, which may not be so strange because in addition to smartphones, older people still prefer
dummy and simple mobile phones.
No matter how this unfortunate story ends, we will never determine with certainty whether the OP was just hunting for merits or his story is true - but what we can all agree with is that this is one of the weirdest ways to lose BTC for now (whether true or not).