Cape Cod Beach Has Mystery Message in a Bottle Wash Up

For a Rhode Island native, a regular beach trip turned into an unexpected experience after stumbling upon a message in a bottle washed up on a Cape Cod beach earlier this month.

While walking on South Cape Beach State Park in Mashpee, Kate Rivers stumbled across a Coke bottle on top of a pile of seaweed, which seemed normal for anyone walking by. However, as she got closer, she noticed a handwritten note inside the Coca-Cola bottle.

Despite the water that seeped inside, Rivers could decipher some of the words. A simple Facebook post helped her further piece together the story and find the person behind the mysterious note.

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"Found a message in a bottle today washed up on the beach," Rivers wrote. "Coolest thing ever, water had unfortunately got into the bottle but i did make out some of the message!! Wonder how long its been traveling for."

One of the posted pictures shows a few tattered pieces of the note put together, barely making out a couple of words. Facebook users began chiming in under the post, pointing out the legible details that revealed the name "Wendy" and a Worcester address.

Further investigations by Spectrum News 1 revealed the person and story behind the letter. To River's surprise, she was eventually connected to Wendy Warner's daughter, Aja Talarico.

Talerico confirmed that the note was not only her mother's handwriting but also written over 60 years ago. Warner died in 2021 at the age of 70.

Warner was about 14 years old when she wrote the letter in 1960. She grew up in Worcester and often visited Cape Cod with her family throughout the summer. During one of her visits, she must have written the note, put it inside the bottle and tossed it into the ocean.

There's no telling where else the bottle could have traveled, but it's amazing that it washed up on shore all these years later. Was it a sign from Rivers' late mother that she found the bottle?

It makes you wonder what other messages could be out there in the Cape waters just waiting to be discovered.