Message in a bottle found in Texas river after 31 years

Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Texas man who tossed a message in a bottle into a river in 1988 was reunited with his letter after it was found recently by a hunter.

Waylon Jones said he was hunting at Toledo Bend when he found a glass bottle floating in the Sabine River.

The bottle contained a note written on a paper plate. Jones posted a photo of the find to Facebook, where it came to the attention of William Hall's granddaughter, who recognized his handwriting.

Hall said he tossed the bottle into the river during a hunting trip in Panola County in the fall of 1988. He said the phone number listed in the note is his mother's old number.

"Being that it's been that long, it was probably stuck under a log jam for 20 to 25 years," Hall told KLTV of his bottle.

"It's pretty unique for that to happen after 31 years," Hall said. "I probably wouldn't have ever thought of it again."