Message in a bottle answered after 24 years

A German boy who put a message in a bottle and threw it into the Baltic Sea 24 years ago has finally had an answer.

A 13-year-old Russian, Daniil Korotkikh, spotted the bottle poking out of the sand while walking on the beach with his parents.

He told the Telegraph: 'I saw that bottle and it looked interesting. It looked like a German beer bottle with a ceramic plug, and there was a message inside.'

His father, who knows basic German, translated the letter, which was carefully wrapped in cellophane and sealed by a medical bandage.

It said: 'My name is Frank, and I'm five years old. My dad and I are travelling on a ship to Denmark. If you find this letter, please write back to me, and I will write back to you.'

The letter, dated 1987, included an address in the town of Coesfeld. And, as luck would have it, 29-year-old Frank Uesbeck's parents still live there.

The Russian boy and the German man met each other earlier this month via an Internet video link.

Daniil showed Mr Uesbeck the bottle where he found the message and the letter that he put in a frame.

Frank laughed: 'At first I didn't believe it.' And, in actual fact, it was his father who wrote the letter, and he only has a grainy memory of it.

But, in the web chat earlier this month, Mr Uesbek gave the boy his new address to write to and promised to write back when he receives his letter.

'He'll definitely get another letter from me,' he added.

Related articles

Woman sues cruise line for going 'too fast'