Family in Sebastian finds, returns 38-year-old message in a bottle to rightful owner

SEBASTIAN, Fla. (WSVN) — A message in a bottle that was once lost has been found on a beach in Sebastian.

When Troy Heller was 10 years old and vacationing in Vero Beach, he thought it was a good idea to put a message in a bottle and throw it into the Atlantic.

After 38 years, the aftermath of Hurricane Nicole caused the bottle to wash up on shore, where the Carrmax family found it.

They returned it to Heller earlier in the week.

“I get a phone call from a Florida number, and I didn’t recognize the number, so a lot of spam calls, so I just kind of let it go,” he said. “Then, a few minutes after that I get a text message asking if this is Troy Heller, and then I get a picture. And the picture is of the letter. As soon as I saw it, I remembered writing it.”

The internet, plus Heller’s old phone number and address led the Carrmaxs straight to him.

Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.