Message in a bottle traveled all the way from Ireland to NJ
NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBS) -- What is this, a song by The Police?
Aoife Byrne of Bray, in County Wicklow, Ireland sent an S.O.S. to the world in 2019 — a message in a bottle — not knowing when or where it might be found.
"I'm a massive Sting fan, and The Police," she said.
Aoife said she was simply intrigued by the idea of the bottle washing up on a shore somewhere one day.
That day was a little over a week ago in North Wildwood — more than four years later — when Frank and Karen Bolger found the bottle while walking on the beach.
"Wednesday we were on our way back at 14th Street in North Wildwood, and Karen looks down in the seaweed. And the bottle was in the seaweed and we picked it up," Frank Bolger said.
It's a story straight out of an old novel or the Hallmark channel.
Frank said he was about to throw the bottle in their trash bag when Karen told him "no, there's a note in it."
This is what the note read:
Greetings from Ireland,
I have thrown this bottle into the sea for someone to find another day. Maybe it's travelled down to Africa or up to Iceland! I won't know if someone found this, but I hope it is found!
-Aoife (note writer)Date: July 17, 2019
The Bolgers weren't sure if it was a joke at first, but they posted their discovery on social media. So did a local reporter with a big following in the Irish community.
And the news quickly reached the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
"I came in on Tuesday... and my dad just said ...'you wouldn't believe this, a note in a bottle found in America,'" Aoife said.
Now it's spurred an intercontinental friendship. The Byrnes and Bolgers connected through social media and later talked on the phone. This week they joined CBS News Philadelphia on video chat to share their story.
"It's been a gift from the sea, was what we feel. Like a treasure, we'll always remember," Karen Bolger said. "It's been a great journey. And everyone's been happy about this story."
"Hope is the main word that I have been using," Aoife said.
"It's giving people hope and making them happy," Frank added.
You never know where focusing on what's possible will lead you!
