Message in bottle from 1945 found along Florida bay after Hurricane Debby, woman says

Tropical storms often reveal odd things on beaches and a woman in Florida reports she found an example in the guise of a 79-year-old message in a bottle.

Suzanne Flament Smith says she made the discovery Wednesday, Aug. 7, along Old Tampa Bay, two days after the Hurricane Debby made landfall 165 miles to the northwest.

“Came across a ‘message in a bottle’ while picking up trash from the storm off Bayshore (Drive) in Safety Harbor,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

“The letter is from 1945 and would love to get it to a family member. Any ideas on how?”

The post touched off a fast-growing social media campaign to find the author or members of the family.

The military letterhead indicates the writer was a Navy recruit stationed in Virginia, she says. However, much of the writing is no longer legible and only first names are used, Flament Smith says.

Two photos shared on Facebook show the bottle speckled with abrasion, and the letter is stained, likely from leakage.

It’s dated 3/4/45, addressed to someone named Lee and “goes on to sound like a conversation between friends,” WFLA reports.

The military letterhead indicates the writer was at the Amphibious Training Base in Little Creek, Virginia, which is now the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, WTSP reports. The bottle also contained “sand, a few shells, a bullet casing, and like a mini cannon ball,” Flament Smith told the station.

Safety Harbor is about a 20-mile drive west from downtown Tampa — and an 830-mile drive southwest from Little Creek, Virginia.

Why the message was put in a bottle and not mailed is among the many unanswered questions.

Flament Smith’s effort to find the writer resulted in TV interviews and dozens of shares on social media. Many commenters want to help in the search.

“This is absolutely amazing! Gave me goosebumps reading it!” Kara Kucin posted.

“Storybook type of thing!” Lourdes Gomez-Luaces said.