50-year-old message in a bottle found in tropics returned to New Hampshire

A message in a bottle sent from New Hampshire over 50 years ago has finally made its way back to the family of the sender, after it was found 2,300 kilometres away on the shores of Turks and Caicos.

Clint Buffington, from Salt Lake City, Utah, found the bottle on the shores of the tropical country while on vacation in 2011.

“Look inside” read a command to the bottle finder.

The note read: “Return to 419 Ocean Boulevard and receive a reward of $150 from Tina, the owner of Beachcomber.”

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A collector of messages in bottles, Buffington blogged about the find and dug into research to find out what the “Beachcomber” could possibly be.

According to ABC, he found out that it was in reference to the Beachcomber Motel in Hampton, New Hampshire after finding the original deed of sale for the land.

The motel was owned by Paul and Tina Tsiatsios, who had since passed away. But their daughter Paula Pierce and her husband Mark Pierce still lived in the state and Buffington was able to track them down.

The Pierces and Buffington finally met on Monday and received her father’s note.

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“This message was simply quite different in nature than others,” Buffington told Global News.

“I knew that Paula wanted the message, even though she didn’t pressure me for it–and I knew it belonged with her. It was the final letter she’d ever receive from her parents, long after they were both gone. It was simply the right thing to do, giving it to her.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I knew that Paula wanted the message, even though she didn't pressure me for it-and I knew it belonged with her. It was the final letter she'd ever receive from her parents, long after they were both gone. It was simply the right thing to do, giving it to her."

For the Pierces, they said it was a surreal moment even though Mark had known it had existed for decades.

Paul had mentioned to Mark that he had sent the message shortly after the family bought the motel in 1960.

“I kept it close to my heart and I kept my mouth shut,” said Mark.

As for the $150, Paula kept good on her father’s promise and gave Buffington the cash when he gave her the letter.

“It’s like completing the circle,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's like completing the circle," she said.