Facebook, Big River ShipbuildersNo matter how hard we try, the day will come when we have to say goodbye to our loved ones, but still, this doesn’t mean that our love for them will be gone too.
Meet Billy
Facebook, Big River ShipbuildersBilly Mitchell works at Big River Shipbuilders, and he found an intriguing bottle during a salvaging trip on the Yazoo River.
Message In A Bottle
UnsplashHe found a green bottle floating by the river. He said, “I always look for stuff that’s unique — driftwood or anything… I told my buddy, I said, ‘there’s a message in this bottle!'”
33-Year-Old Letter
UnsplashThe bottle traveled almost 300 miles from Oxford, Mississippi through the Mississippi River Delta to Vicksburg, but the bottle was still intact and sealed even after 33 years.
Making Sense Of The Letter
Facebook, Big River ShipbuildersMitchell and his buddies tried to piece the message back together but all they could decipher from it was that the child who wrote it was from Oxford and that it was from a class project in 1989.
Finding The Author
UnsplashMitchell had no luck calling Oxford schools so he made a post on social media to find the author of the letter.
A Divine Intervention
Facebook, Melanie Parker DahlDr. Eric Dahl, the father of the kid who wrote the letter, was at church when he got the call about the post. He believes that it was divine intervention as he doesn’t usually answer his phone at church but he was on call at the hospital at that time so he got connected to Mitchell.
Their Story
USA TodayEric, his wife Melanie, and their son Chris drove to the shipyard in Vicksburg to see the bottle. As it turns out, the letter was written by their late son, Brian, who passed away at the age of 29 years old.
A Grade School Project
USA TodayBrian wrote that message in 1989 when he was just 11 years old during a sixth-grade school field trip, and his family couldn’t believe that they would find it 33 years later.
His Love Remains
USA TodayThe Dahl family is convinced that this is Brian’s way of reminding them that although he’s not with them anymore, his love will always stay with them. Melanie said, “It was just kind of incredible to me that could happen. I didn’t remember the whole project, so it was a surprise. The fact it was my son who wrote that 33 years ago — what are the odds of that bottle being found?”.
