A routine cleanup in the wetlands of Upper Township, New Jersey, led to an unusual discovery: a sealed bottle containing a note written 53 years ago by a 9-year-old girl, according to UPI Odd News.
John Kauterman, co-founder of The Tidelands Initiative, found the bottle while working in the area and shared a photo of the message online in hopes of identifying the writer. The post eventually reached Blair’s sister, Allison Spencer.
The note described a playful fictional tale about being sent offshore by “ruthless sponge fisherman,” and Spencer said Blair had dictated the message because she was 16 and had better handwriting. The sisters launched the bottle from an Ocean City beach in 1973.
Kauterman later learned Blair died of cancer in 2019. He also discovered that he and Blair shared the same birthday. He mailed the letter to Spencer, who said she plans to frame it in a shadow box at home.
