Message in a bottle found after 20 years

HAUGE, Norway, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A Norwegian couple walking along the southwest coast discovered a message in a bottle thrown into the sea by a 12-year-old England girl 20 years earlier.

Johnny Kurt Haland said he and his wife were walking along southwestern coast near their home in Hauge when they discovered the bottle and its letter, which was faded but still mostly readable, The Local.no reported Thursday.

"Dear friend. My name is Lucy Elliot and I am 12 years old," the message read. "I was born 1982 and I have brown thick wavy hair. Please write to me if you receive this letter. I live in England, Coventry. I threw this letter out to sea from [unreadable]. The date today is the 19th September 1994. My address is: Ferrers Close, Tile Hill North, Coventry. I have 2 cats, 1 brother. Please write back. From a bored 12-year-old girl."

Elliot, now 31, said hearing about the bottle's discovery brought back memories.

"I had lost my bracelet and was pacing up and down the beach trying to find it. I got bored eventually so decided to write this message in a bottle and threw it into the sea. When I heard it had been found all the memories of that holiday came flooding back, it really makes you reflect on the past 20 years," she said.

Elliot said she plans to throw more bottled messages into the water with her 13-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son.

"Who knows, in 20 years' time someone might find their messages and contact them," she said.