A mom from the UK made an unusual discovery on the beach: a message in a bottle. She posted about the hand-written note inside and what she did next in a now-viral social media post.
Kelly Sheridan revealed on Facebook that she and her family found the bottle on Skegness Beach. Inside, there was a page that read, “This is my mum. Throw her back in she’s traveling the world. Thanks. Cara Oldham UK.”
Sheridan took shared pictures of the bottle and message and replied, “Can everyone please share this far and wide in hope it finds Cara from Oldham!! We found this lovely lady earlier today at Butlins, Skegness beach. She’s been thrown back in the sea as requested. Happy travels Cara’s Mum.”
She also posted a short clip of one of her children tossing the bottle from the beach. Sheridan’s post quickly gained traction online, to the point where it even reached the person who had sent the bottle out to sea on its maiden voyage.
Cara’s Mom Died Unexpectedly
According to a report by Manchester Evening News, Cara Melia lost her mother in February this year. Her mom was only 51 when she died unexpectedly of Heart Disease. The family decided to have her cremated. Instead of scattering the ashes, Cara bottled them with the note and threw them into the ocean in the hopes her mother would see the world. In an interview with the outlet, Cara explained, “We lost my mum very unexpectedly” and that nobody was prepared for it.
“We had the funeral, and she was cremated. I had booked a holiday to go to Butlins with my friend in Skegness, so I thought I’d scatter her on the beach where she was at her happiest,” Cara said. She told Manchester Evening News that sending the bottle out to sea was actually her best friend’s idea. “I wrote the note because I wanted her to finally get to travel because she didn’t get to before she passed,” she explained.
The bottle wasn’t at sea for long, and Sheridan and her family stumbled upon it just 12 hours later. Cara admitted, “I’d thrown the bottle in hoping she’d have a good journey, but within 12 hours, she was back on the beach, and it didn’t go as planned.” She hopes her late mother’s next journey is a longer one. “It seems to have touched so many people,” she added.