In September 2012, a young Canadian couple, Anita and Brad, visited Bell Island. While there, they wrote a message, sealed it in a glass bottle, and threw it into the Atlantic Ocean.
Their note said: “Anita and Brad went to Bell Island. We enjoyed dinner here and walked to the edge. Whoever finds this, please call us.”
Thirteen years later, the bottle traveled over 2,000 miles and was found by another couple, Kate and John Gray, on Scraggane Bay in Ireland.
Kate and John read the note and wondered if Anita and Brad were still together. They tried calling the number on the note, but got no answer.
Next, they posted about the discovery on the Facebook page of Maharees Heritage and Conservation, an environmental group that organizes coastal cleanups. That’s how they found the bottle.
Their Facebook post went viral. Within hours, friends in Canada told Anita and Brad about it.
Today, Anita and Brad are married. They live in Newfoundland, Canada, and have three children.
Brad told the media the last 48 hours had been overwhelming. He described how on July 7, he was putting their youngest son to bed when the phone started ringing. Meanwhile, Anita was laughing in the other room after reading the Facebook post.
Anita and Brad were married in 2016. Anita is a nurse, and Brad is retired from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Brad said: “We were young when we threw that message in the sea. Now we’re older, but our love hasn’t changed. We’re glad this story came out and that we got to meet new friends. We hope to visit Ireland someday.”