A 12-year-old girl in Sunderland was over the moon to learn her message in a bottle had been found in Sweden.
Grace Liddles bottle took just under a year to make its way across the north sea and be discovered by 72-year-old Swede Freddy Stahlberg.
And just months before that, another message in a bottle thrown in the sea at the same time by Graces brother, Harry, now six, was found in Denmark.
The pair had both written their names and the contact details of their mother Christie Bowley on pieces of paper, put them in bottles and thrown them off Roker Pier in Sunderland on August 28 last year.
On March 6 this year, Christie, 35 received a message on Facebook to say Harrys bottle had been found in Denmark.
While Grace was happy for her brother, she longed for the day her bottle would also be found, but was losing hope.
Grace was convinced hers sank and had taken a room up in the Titanic, Christie said.
Grace and Harry on Roker pier last August ready tho throw their bottles in the sea (Picture: Christie Bowley/PA Wire)But on August 3 Christie opened a message on Facebook from Freddy, who said he had found the bottle on an island on Swedens west coast, around 90 miles north of Gothenburg, call Pinnö.
The bottle had travelled around 550 miles.
Freddy, who lives in nearby Grebbestad during the summer months and in Lund for the rest of the year, told PA News he found it on August 2.
He initially struggled to read the note as the paper had been damaged by salt water.
Grace writing her message (Picture: Christie Bowley/PA Wire)Our family tried our best to find words that were useful, and we were finally able to identify Christies name, a hint that she had a Facebook address, as well as the word Sunderland, he said.
With her name, I found her Facebook page, and looking at the iages there I could deduce that she lived in Sunderland, which was mentioned in the message in the bottle.
With this information at hand, I dared to send a message to Christie.
She replied some time later and we were all very enthusiastic about having solved the riddle.
The retired university professor said he often goes on treasure hunts with his grandson Edward Stahlberg, five, and the little boy was excited about the discovery.
The bottle after it made it its way to the west coast of Sweden (Picture: PA)Christie said: (Grace) was really shocked, she couldnt believe it because there was a very slim chance that Harrys would be found, so when we discovered Graces had also been found she was absolutely over the moon.
Theyve both been found in the space of a year, you wouldnt expect them to be found so soon I think it just shows how small the world actually is.
I just think its a miracle, considering how big the sea is.
Christie said she initially thought there was no chance of the bottles ever being discovered further than the pier, because when her children first threw them out to sea, they started heading back to shore.
What added to the fun of the whole story, Christie explained, was the similarity between the names of the two people who found the bottle.
Harrys bottle was found by a man called Frederik and Graces was found by someone called Freddy it is just mad, she said.
Grace throwing her bottle off the pier in Sunderland last year (Picture: Christie Bowley/PA Wire)She hopes she can take Harry and Grace to the spots where their bottles were found and the family has considered throwing more bottles into the Atlantic Ocean to see if they end up in the US.
In 2016 we reported on what was dubbed the worlds worst message in a bottle, found by 13-year-old Robbie Chappel in Hampshire.
He had been walking his dog when he spotted the bottle by Langstone Harbour and excitedly ran home to find out who it was from.
The teenager even got his dad to film the reveal but was somewhat underwhelmed to learn the note was from two blokes called Dan on a cocaine binge who had written the message the day before.
If you missed it, you can watch the video here.
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