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​Woman Reunited With Message In A Bottle 17 Years After Sending It

​Woman Reunited With Message In A Bottle 17 Years After Sending It

Emily Edwards was seven when she decided to send her own when she was enjoying a family day out in Rhyl, North Wales

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Some of us might remember trying to send a message in a bottle when we were younger, knowing full well it'd probably just end up in a landfill or sinking to the bottom of the sea.

But one woman got the shock of her life when she was reunited with a message she sent floating away as a kid - nearly two decades ago.

After being inspired by 90s flick Message in a Bottle, Emily Edwards was seven when she decided to send her own, while enjoying a family day out in Rhyl, North Wales, in 2001.

But the 25-year-old mum-of-one could never have imagined that the note would be returned to its sender, after the bottle washed up on a beach in Nefyn, Wales, almost 60 miles away last week.

Emily, a taxi firm assistant manger from Shrewsbury, Shrophire, said: "I was really shocked when it was found, I still can't believe it.

"I phoned my dad looking for confirmation that I wasn't going mad, but he confirmed that I did send the message as a seven-year-old.

"So when I told him the message had been found, he thought it was as crazy as I did.

"I just wrote my name, postcode and 'a message in a bottle', so people would know what it was.

"Unfortunately the message I actually wrote to myself on the piece of paper had washed off, and I just can't remember it.

"I saw the idea in the old 90s film Message in a Bottle and wanted to do the same.

"At that age, though, you expect it to come back the week after, not 17 years later."

The bottle was found washed up on a beach in Nefyn, Wales, last week.
Caters

So who found the message? Turns out it was one Sam Hammond, who had been visiting his mum, Sue Cookson, when he stumbled upon the mysterious note while out for a run on the beach.

The message included Emily's name and one of her old addresses, so Sue became determined to track down the original sender and decided to post an appeal on Facebook.

After the post was shared hundreds of times, one of Emily's friends spotted it and flagged it with her.

Emily, who had moved to Telford aged six, then arranged with Sue for the bottled memory to be returned to her after the long wait.

The bottle was reunited with Emily after a Facebook appeal went viral.
Caters

Emily said: "Sue's son found it, and she thought would be fun if they could try and find out who sent the message.

"My friend, who I've known for 18 years, sent me a message and a screenshot about the find asking if I lived on that street that long ago.

"She didn't actually expect it to be me, so when I said, 'No, that's me,' she was so surprised.

"I don't think Sue ever expected to find the person who wrote it."

Good job the message wasn't 'SOS', eh?

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: UK News, Awesome, Funny, Weird