Hawaiian Message in a Bottle Discovered at Bradenton Beach

BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — A remarkable journey began in Hawaii when a tiny bottle, containing a heartfelt message, was carried across the ocean currents and eventually washed ashore in Bradenton Beach on Sunday. The serendipitous find was made by an 11-year-old girl, Josie Law, who was visiting from Michigan.

“It was in this tiny little glass bottle with cute origami birds,” Paris Hoisington, 31, recounted. “She was so surprised. Came running right towards me on the beach.”

Initially mistaking the bottle for trash, Josie said, “Then I saw the note inside. I was like, let me grab this. This is cool.”

The note read: ‘Hello people who found this, you will be happy that you found this. Why? Cause you will know me with this number.’

After texting the number from the note, Hoisington received an immediate response: “’My brother and I made that when I was younger,’” the text read. “’We actually live in Hawaii.’” Hoisington was astounded by the connection.

Payton Hollenbeck, 21, revealed that she and her brother, Elias, had tossed the message in a bottle into the ocean at Kaena Point in Oahu eight years ago. The bottle traveled over 4,600 miles before reaching Florida. “To think of how many bodies of water it went through,” Hoisington mused. “It’s truly amazing what little tiny objects can go places in the world and connect people from opposite sides of the globe.”

Excited by this unique experience, the family from Michigan had already planned to release three bottles before heading back home, hoping for responses from future finders. “We left our phone number on one,” Hoisington mentioned eagerly. “We can’t wait to see what happens.”

Hollenbeck shared that her motivation to release a message in a bottle stemmed from her childhood, having previously found a bottle herself.