BRADENTON, Fla. (WSVN) — A family looking for seashells in Bradenton Beach found something a lot more special. A message in a bottle that had traveled all the way from Hawaii.
Paris Hoisington and her 11-year-old daughter, Josie, were on Anna Maria Island when a treasure washed ashore on Sunday.
“And we were just walking right over here,” said Paris. “We were just looking for seashells and sand dollars. And we found something way cooler than that.”
Josie said at first it looked like trash in the water.
“I was walking, and then the waves were coming, and the bottle almost went, but I grabbed it really fast,” said Josie.
Upon further inspection, she discovered a tiny bottle with a piece of origami inside, as well as a message reading, “Hello people who found this, you will be happy that you found this. Why? Because you will know me with this number.”
Paris says she texted that number and got a response– a 21-year-old woman who says she and her brother threw that bottle in the ocean eight years ago in Hawaii. She says she got the idea because she also found one when she was a kid.
“My brother and I made that when I was younger, and we actually live in Hawaii,” said Paris. “And I said, ‘You’re kidding.'”
Paris’ family is visiting from Michigan. They’d already planned to throw their own messages in bottles into the ocean.
“We’ve got our own message in a bottle to do. The kids already filled them out. I believe this one is Josie’s. So we’re going to put these in the ocean, and hopefully we’ll get a response back.”
Paris says it’s a child’s dream to find a message in a bottle at the beach, and it has made their Florida trip even more special.
“It’s truly amazing how little tiny objects can go places in the world and connect two people from each other’s side of the world,” said Paris.
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