A student sent a note to the ocean and received it 36 years later

On June 17, 41-year-old Ryan Burchett was relaxing with friends and family on a Georgia beach. They were fishing and looking for shells in the sand when they suddenly discovered a mysterious bottle with a note. It turned out that it was written in 1981 — 36 years ago.

(7 photos in total)

It was a handwritten letter from a certain Douglas Stevens, and he let her into the ocean from the city of Fernandina Beach in Florida - Stevens' family had been vacationing there since he was five years old. Before Burchett found the bottle, she swam about 72 kilometers.

The note read: "This bottle was shipped from Fernandina Beach on June 10, 1981. I would be grateful to anyone who finds it if you write who you are, as well as where and when it happened. Here is my permanent address. Thanks. Douglas Stevens."

The 56-year-old Stevens said that in those years he sent several bottles, but he still hadn't heard anything about all the other messages.

The author of the letter is Douglas Stevens

Stevens indicated on the note the address of the house in Georgia where he lived as a child and youth, and in 1986 his parents retired and sold it. Due to outdated data, it was difficult for Burchett to track the current state of things.

Neither Stevens nor Burchett are registered on social networks, so a friend suggested that Beretta contact the ecotourism agency SouthEast Adventure Outfitters on St. Simons Island to post a photo of the bottle on their Facebook page. After 12 hours, Stevens got in touch.

The sender of the letter is Douglas Stevens after a phone call

In August, Burchett is going to meet with Stevens to return the letter to him and remember the old days: "I think when I give him the bottle, it will be the most exciting part of the meeting. It will be even cooler for me than finding her."

Stevens now lives in Acworth, but still travels to Fernandina Beach every year. This year, on his way to a traditional vacation, he will stop in Burchett's hometown of Brunswick.

Douglas Stevens