Lake Superior Girl’s Message in a Bottle Returns Home 20 Years After Washing Ashore in North Carolina

North Carolina — More than 20 years after tossing a message in a bottle into Lake Superior, a Marquette woman has been reunited with the keepsake that journeyed more than 1,000 miles before washing ashore in North Carolina.

As a child, Amy Benson — then Amy Kuivanen — wrote a note, sealed it in a bottle, and threw it into AuTrain Bay. Like many childhood gestures, she assumed it was gone forever.

“I remember writing the note and throwing the bottle into Lake Superior as a child,” Benson recalled. “To be reunited with it after all these years feels like a little miracle.”

A Journey Across the Great Lakes and Beyond

At some point in the early 2000s, the bottle surfaced on the Atlantic coastline of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, where it was discovered by a young woman named Aimee.

For years, Aimee kept the bottle, moving it from home to home and displaying it in her window as a reminder of its mysterious journey. Recently, she decided it was time to track down its original owner and return it.

A Childhood Memory Resurfaces

Adding to the mystery, Benson recalled that she actually received a phone call about 20 years ago from someone who said they had found the bottle. “They told me it had likely been floating for 5–7 years before washing up,” she said. “But after that call, I never heard from them again. To have the bottle actually make its way back to me now is surreal.”

A Story Bigger Than a Bottle

For Benson, the return of her message carries more meaning than just nostalgia.

“This story is bigger than just a bottle,” she said. “It’s about how small the world really is, and how something as simple as a childhood message can come full circle decades later.”

Have you ever lost something that made its way back to you years later? Share your story at SaludaStandard-Sentinel.com.