53-year-old message in a bottle leads to bittersweet discovery
UPPER TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (WPVI) -- When she was 9 years old, Laurie Blair set adrift a curious message in a bottle.
53 years later, it was found.
The story begins in 1973, when Laurie and her sister, Allie, were on the beach in Ocean City. Their mother encouraged them to write a message in a bottle as a fun activity.
Laurie, known for her incredible imagination, drafted a tall tale. She asked Allie to write it down for her.
It read:
"This bottle was adrift on August 20, 1973 on 2nd Street beach Ocean City as my captors were transporting me to an island off shore in the Atlantic. Please notify my family that a band of ruthless sponge fisherman are forcing me to dive for them in shark infested waters! Please return this note to my home in (address). You may have saved my life! Thank you. Laurie Blair."
Fast forward to the 2020s, Avalon native John Kauterman and his friend Kevin Dougherty had an idea to clean up the wetlands of South Jersey.
They created a nonprofit, The Tidelands Initiative, to do just that.
During a routine clean-up in June 2026, Kauterman found Laurie's message in a bottle.
After posting it on Facebook, internet sleuths were able to contact her sister, Allie.
But the discovery was bittersweet. Sadly, Laurie had passed away from cancer in 2017.
Laurie had studied theater in college. She got married and enjoyed photography, jewelry-making, and blogging.
Her sister Allie, delighted by the discovery, asked John to mail her the letter. She plans to place it in a shadow box and display it in her home.
It was all too serendipitous. Laurie sent the letter 9 years after her birth and it was discovered 9 years after she passed away.
Not to mention that the letter's author and its eventual recipient, Laurie and John, share a birthday.
John says it's common for him to find glass bottles from the '60s, '70s, and '80s washed ashore alongside water bottles from the present day.
He hopes to clean up all of South Jersey and help preserve the habitats that still exist there.
To learn more about The Tidelands Initiative, visit their website.
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