Message in a Bottle now Rests in Museum History

BY MELANIE BUCK –

The long lost ‘message in a bottle’ found by Gordon and Cindy Brevik in 1983, off the coast of the Florida Keys has been returned to its owner, Ron Herbst, and has been presented to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensecola, Florida. The story was first reported on in the Polk County Pulse on January 18, 2017 and has garnered statewide attention across Florida as interest peaks over the 33-plus year mystery.

Despite all odds, the message in a bottle that traveled over 8,000 miles across ‘the pond,’ sat on a shelf for more than three decades, before the Breviks searched for the owner. Once the search began, it wasn’t long before they had tracked down Ronald Herbst, who was in the military when he dropped the bottle.

Ron Herbst was over-the-top excited when he received the message that they had his bottle. He was deployed on a World Cruise, departing from San Francisco, California in March 1983 and traveled completely around the globe. “It was sometime after Rota [Spain] that we tossed the note but I’m not exactly sure where. I believe we were somewhere between Africa and the U.S.” A distance that covers more than 8,000 miles.

After conversing via phone and email, the Breviks mailed the bottle to Herbst, who now makes his home in Pensecola. Herbst had approached the National Naval Aviation Museum when the Breviks contacted him to see if they were interested in displaying the find. They got back to him quickly and stated they “would love to accept the bottle and the note.”

Upon receiving the bottle, Herbst delivered it to the museum, presenting it on Friday, January 20, 2017. “Today I presented the note and bottle to the Naval Aviation Museum. Today it starts its final journey to its tiny place in history,” said Herbst.

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

See author's posts