A retired Mississippi teacher was out on the Pearl River on January 16 looking for some of his favorite things — old bottles, sea glass and fossils. He found an old bottle and tossed it into his boat. When he got home, he realized he found a treasure of sorts: a message in the bottle, written more than 40 years ago by a 3-year-old child. The message read: “The finder of my mystery bottle, My name is David Blanks. I live in Jackson, Mississippi. I am 3 years old. If you find my bottle, please call me at [phone number] – call collect. Good luck and happy hunting! David” The note was dated June 4, 1983.

The teacher, named Jeremy Weir, called the number and reached the parents of a now-adult (and very surprised) David Blanks. While there was no treasure to be found from the message, it was an adventure Weir will remember for awhile. He and Blanks plan on meeting so Weir can give him back the bottle.

For his part, Blanks was “ecstatic” to hear of the discovery, but alas, he didn’t even remember writing the note.

message in a bottle found from 1983 on mississippi river in 2023

Photo: Jeremy Weir

 

4 responses to “Message in a Bottle Found After 40 Years of Floating”

  1. Hookman says:

    Yeah, I was gonna comment on the “great” writing for a 3 year old.

  2. Mara8 says:

    I would love to know if his parents have a fond memory of this or if it was an adventure with a grandparent or another family member. What a charming story!

  3. GeneMan1 says:

    Of course he couldn’t recall writing it! His parents did. All David might have done, was print his name, Very obvious facts from looking at the writing.

  4. norcalgal says:

    David didn’t remember “writing” the note because one of his parents wrote it for him, because he couldn’t write yet at 3! Bet one of his parents remembers! Looks like David signed his own name, thougjh.

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