Century-Old Message in a Bottle Found: A Dive into History

Jennifer Dowker spends her summer months conducting boat tours, fully aware of the hidden secrets beneath Michigan's waterways. Yet, she was astonished to discover an old bottle containing a message from 1926.

Dowker was cleaning the windows beneath her boat by diving into the Cheboygan River when she unearthed the treasure. Collecting bottles and various underwater objects is second nature to her, but the vintage green bottle caught her attention.

The bottle was discovered three meters below water. "Initially, I thought it was just a cool bottle, but lifting it from the riverbed, I could make out the word ‘This’ on the paper," Dowker recounted. "I quickly understood I had found a message in a bottle."

Once back on her boat, she showed the find to one of her clients. The bottle was almost filled with water, with part of its cork still intact, though worn from decades. She skillfully retrieved the note with a small tool and gently unfolded it to read.

The date indicated that the note was penned in November of 1926, nearly a century ago, containing the message: "Will the finder of this message return this paper to George Morrow of Cheboygan, Michigan, and let him know where it was found?"

Rob Heymer, a client aboard the boat with Dowker, worked at the local museum. After consulting his colleagues, he advised Dowker to place the note in the freezer to properly dry it out.

Dowker mentioned that Cheboygan is a small town with a few families bearing the Morrow surname. Confident that keen internet users could unravel this mystery quickly, she posted some photos and went to sleep. By morning, her post had gone viral with over 100,000 shares and 6,000 responses. "I just wondered when I’d find time to research the author of the note," she said. Soon, Michelle Premo, George Morrow’s daughter, reached out.

Premo told CNN she isn’t active on social media but was contacted by a stranger who’d seen Dowker’s post. Upon viewing an image of the note, she recognized her father’s handwriting, though it was written 20 years before her birth.

Premo said her father was born in November, likely 17 when he penned and tossed the note into the river. "I can imagine him doing it since it was his birthday," Premo speculated. "I can’t say for certain. But it sounds just like him."

George Morrow passed away in 1995, and Premo remarked that the note’s rediscovery brought back fond memories. When Dowker expressed a desire to return the bottle message, Premo insisted Dowker keep it, ensuring it was right. Dowker promised to frame the note and display it on her boat.