Beverly

Beverly man finds message in a bottle on beach, sets out to find author

Douglas Turnbull found intimate letters, a drawing and photos in a bottle at Lynch Park and is hoping to return them to the family depicted

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After finding several messages in a bottle on a beach in Beverly, Massachusetts, one man is hoping to return the letters to their authors.

Douglas Turnbull explained that he was wingfoiling at Lynch Park when he noticed the glass bottle in the sand.

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"I just looked down and there it was," he said Thursday.

Intimate letters, a drawing and photos of family members were all found tucked inside.

"I would often think about what we would do together if we had more time," he read from one of the letters. "Here's a recent picture of Jordan and I. I hope you are looking down on us and having a great time with Nana and Soph."

"It's nice to see people caring and sharing and respecting people who came before them," Turnbull added.

After seeing how special the letters were, Turnbull said he now hopes to find the family members who wrote them.

"I think that it would be neat for them to get them back," he said.

He started by taking to social media.

"I found this, does anybody know a 'Bamby' or a 'Bumpy," said Turnbull. "With names. There's a 'Love Dan' in here, there's an 'Allan and I speak to you every day,' the grandkids' names are Jacob and Jordan."

Turnbull also said he's been scouring obituaries hoping to match up the family names.

"It's just a nice reminder that there's plenty of love and plenty of interesting people. And it's just been neat to be a part of," he said.

Turnbull concluded that if he cannot locate the family, he will likely add a letter of his own to the bottle, then throw it back into the ocean for the next lucky person to find.

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