Mysterious girl: US family searching for author of message in a bottle from Ireland

Frank and Karen Bolger enjoying a sunny day at the beach with their granddaughter. Picture: The Wildwood Sun by the Sea/Facebook

An American family was surprised while on a day out at the beach when they found a message from a mysterious girl.

The Bolger family were down at the 14th Street beach in Wildwood, New Jersey last week to soak up some rays while on vacation.

They have been visiting Wildwood for years and part of their daily beach ritual is to do a 'trash walk' before they enjoy their afternoon, making sure they leave the beach a bit more beautiful than they found it.

On this particular afternoon, the waves had brought them a special message that had travelled all the way across the Atlantic from Ireland.

Karen Bolger spotted the curious bottle in a clump of seaweed by the water's edge and picked it up.

On closer inspection, she realised there was a note. They had uncovered their very own message in a bottle.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, her husband Frank, said that it was a struggle to get the note out.

"Greetings from Ireland," it began. "I have thrown this bottle into the sea for someone to find another day.

"Maybe it's travelled down to Africa or up to Iceland.

"I won't know if someone found this but I hope it is found."

The note was simply signed Aoife and was dated July 17th, 2019.

Mr Bolger joked that at first they did not know how to pronounce the name Aoife but they quickly learned as their search began.

Delighted with the find, the family is hoping to track down Aoife to let her know her message was found and how delighted they were to be the ones who discovered it.

A call for Aoife was posted to social media by a local magazine, The Wildwood Sun by the Sea.

The post has gained huge traction but so far, there has been no response from the note writer herself.

It may be a long shot but Mr Bolger is hoping that if enough people share the story, Aoife can learn just how far her message travelled.

Mr Bolger said he found it striking that the bottle found its way to North Wildwood where there is a large Irish-American population.

"It's like god was directing it," he said, adding that the discovery has brought hope and goodwill to the community.

Many local people began sharing the story with their friends and family in Ireland and the Facebook post has since been shared almost 800 times.

Just a week before they stumbled upon the Irish bottle, Mr Bolger and his wife were saying how odd it was that they never found jewellery in all their years picking up trash at the beach given that so many people lose items at the beach and in the water.

But now, they are happy to have found "the kind of treasure you cannot put a value on".

Around 10 or 12 years ago, in the same area, a lifeguard also found a message in a bottle where the writer had included his contact information. She contacted him and they have been firm friends ever since.

Today, hopes are high in Wildwood that the mysterious Aoife will be found.

Who knows? It could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.