diff --git a/src/MarkerClusterGroup.js b/src/MarkerClusterGroup.js
index 8176db4b6..fa30630d3 100644
--- a/src/MarkerClusterGroup.js
+++ b/src/MarkerClusterGroup.js
@@ -390,6 +390,14 @@ L.MarkerClusterGroup = L.FeatureGroup.extend({
 		this._map = null;
 	},
 
+   getVisibleParent: function(marker){
+      var vMarker = marker;
+      // TODO: Is this safe? No extra check needed to prevent infinite loop?
+      while(!vMarker._icon) {
+         vMarker = vMarker.__parent;
+      }
+      return vMarker;
+   },
 
 	//Remove the given object from the given array
 	_arraySplice: function (anArray, obj) {
@@ -909,4 +917,4 @@ L.MarkerClusterGroup.include(!L.DomUtil.TRANSITION ? {
 
 L.markerClusterGroup = function (options) {
 	return new L.MarkerClusterGroup(options);
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+};