The message in a bottle that gave “goosebumps” after 27 years

But it really happened, and those kids never expected their message would make its way back to them 27 years later. When it did, the timing gave them “goosebumps.”

The Washington Post reports,

The boys quickly forgot about their “message in a bottle,” but they remained friends. As the years passed, Standefer stayed in touch with the others, Drew Plasek, Travis Casler and Lance Casler. 

The other three were devastated when Travis Casler died of a heart attack a year and a half ago. So there was something extra special and meaningful about the surprise that came their way in July 2022.

Fast forward from 1995  to July 16, 2022, when a cleanup volunteer stumbled across the bottle by accident. 

He and his fellow volunteers called the numbers inside. They were out of service, so they turned to social media to find the people named on the note, and quickly connected with Standefer.

For Standefer, receiving the note was a wonderful reminder of his childhood friendships, especially with his friend who had recently passed away.

“To see my handwriting and my friends’ names was a surreal and emotional thing, especially since we’d lost Travis,” Standefer said.

He told the New York Post:

Finding a message in a bottle is exciting on its own. It was extra meaningful in this case, bringing a reminder of a beloved friendship, almost like a message of hope from beyond the grace.

Surely the four boys who set it afloat all those years ago never knew if or when it would be found. But God knew, and in his timing, it was just when they needed it.