Message in a Bottle From Hawaii Reaches Bradenton Beach, Found by Visiting Michigan Girl
A simple childhood gesture from Hawaii turned into an unforgettable moment for an 11-year-old girl on vacation in Florida, after she discovered a message in a bottle floating near the shore of Cortez Beach on Anna Maria Island.
Josie Law, visiting from Michigan with her mother, Paris Hoisington, was playing in the water Sunday when she noticed what she first thought was a piece of trash. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a small glass bottle—complete with tiny origami birds and a rolled-up message inside.
The handwritten note inside read: “Hello people who found this, you will be happy that you found this. Why? Cause you will know me with this number.” The family sent a text to the number, and to their amazement, received a reply.
The message had been written eight years earlier by Payton Hollenbeck, now 21, who, along with her younger brother Elias, had tossed the bottle into the Pacific Ocean at Kaena Point in Oahu, Hawaii. The bottle had traveled an astonishing 4,600 miles across oceans before finally washing up in Bradenton Beach.
Hollenbeck, who now lives in Hawaii, shared that she created the bottle after finding one herself as a child, continuing a cycle of curiosity and connection across oceans.
Inspired by their discovery, Josie’s family plans to send out three of their own message-filled bottles before returning home to Michigan. They’ve included their own phone number in hopes of someday receiving a reply, just as Hollenbeck once did.
This unexpected link between two families, connected by a tiny bottle and the vast ocean, is a reminder of the simple wonders that travel the world and bring people together in unexpected ways.