‘Message from heaven’: See what a Florida beach patrol officer found from Hurricane Ian
Lost — then miraculously found.
A Southwest Florida woman has been reunited with a precious heirloom that was thought gone forever six months after Hurricane Ian ripped through the area.
Last Wednesday, the Town of Fort Myers Beach posted two pictures on Facebook of a wedding plate a beach patrol officer had just stumbled onto behind the Bay Oaks Recreational Center, about two miles from where it was lost.
TV News station NBC2 picked up the story and an eagle-eyed viewer named Starla Mullarkey recognized the piece of china as belonging to a neighbor friend of hers, Gail Conner, who was out of state.
Jennifer Dexter, spokeswoman for the Town of Fort Myers Beach, confirmed that Mullarkey contacted authorities and picked up the dish for safekeeping on Friday.
Mullarkey told the Miami Herald that Conner was relieved to find out her prized possession was safe because it has “special” meaning. The dish was a gift from her late sister, the maid of honor at her 1978 wedding who was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver at age 34 in 1990. Conner’s beachside house was destroyed by the storm but the plate somehow survived.
The white scalloped porcelain plate featuring blue wedding bells reads “Love, Joy and Happiness” on the front. The back is inscribed: “God bless you with many years of happiness! Love, Audrey.”
“When I looked at it, it was so beautiful because it’s a message from heaven,” Conner told NBC2, adding that it been stored in a box, but now she will find the perfect place for it when her new home is built on Fort Myers Beach.
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 12:59 PM.
