NEW JERSEY – A message left in a bottle by a 9-year-old girl has been found after 53 years, bringing to light an unusual and emotional story.
The discovery was made by John Kauterman, co-founder of the Tidelands Initiative, who was taking part in a wetland cleanup in Upper Township, New Jersey. While cleaning, he came across a sealed bottle that still contained the letter written more than five decades ago.
In hopes of identifying the author of the message, Kauterman posted a photo of the letter on social media. The post caught the attention of Allison Spencer, the girl’s sister, who said the message had been dictated by her sister Blair, then just 9 years old, while she, then 16, had written it herself because of her neater handwriting. The two then threw the bottle into the ocean off a beach in Ocean City.
According to Spencer, Blair was a child with a rich imagination and a unique sense of humor. She remembers that her sister was convinced that one day the message would be found.
During his research, Kauterman learned that Blair had passed away in 2019 after a battle with cancer. He also discovered an unusual coincidence: the two had the same birth date.
After the letter was found, it was sent to Allison Spencer, who plans to keep it in a special frame as a family keepsake. According to her, if Blair were still alive, she would probably say with a smile, “I told you it would be found.”