Canadian couple's message in a bottle found in Ireland 13 years later
Anita Squires — who's now married to the man who threw that bottle from a Newfoundland cliff — told NBC News when she wrote the note placed inside the bottle, she figured it'd quickly be lost at sea.
Instead it traveled nearly 2,000 miles and wound up on Scraggane Bay on Ireland's Dingle Peninsula 4,600 days later. It was discovered there by Maharees Conservation Association workers cleaning up the bay's eroding beachfront. The organization's chairperson, Martha Farrell, was amazed by the resilience of the glass bottle as well as that of the couple responsible for setting it afloat.
She described its recovery as a 'moment of pure joy.'
The short note inside the bottle summed up the date Anita and her now-husband, Brad, were enjoying about a year into their courtship.
'Today we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other on the edge of the island,' she wrote along with a phone number. 'If you find this, please call us.'
Farrell said her organization dialed the number, but got no reply. After searching for its author on Facebook, she got in touch with Anita.
'It was phenomenal,' Farrell said.
Anita and Brad Squires, who married in 2016, now have three children.
_____
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wild boar's future in jeopardy as Yellowhead County upholds pet prohibition bylaw
Rosie's Rescue in Yellowhead County, Alta., is wrestling with a prohibited pets bylaw, so it can keep a wild boar. The rescue's founder, Angela Pauls, rescued Wilber the wild boar from a meat farm in Whitecourt, Alta., a town just outside the county, in March 2024. She said she didn't know what kind of pig it was at the time, but felt it was her duty to take him in anyway. Wilber was a piglet at the time, suffering from a variety of serious health problems, including mange, pneumonia, dermatitis and a strep virus. At one point, he was put on an oxygen tank. "Our vet had actually told us not to get her hopes up; that he probably wouldn't survive," Pauls said. Wilber persevered, but he might not get to continue his comfortable life at the Rescue for much longer, after Pauls moved her non-profit in April from Leduc County, just south of Edmonton, to Yellowhead County, about 215 kilometres west of Edmonton. Not like other boars The county's council passed a bylaw more than six years ago that prohibits residents from keeping animals like wild boars as pets. Pauls said Leduc County did not have any similar bylaw. When she learned about the bylaw after moving, Pauls wrote a letter to council, detailing Wilber's species and medical history. But council decided to uphold the bylaw. "You also can look at a case on a case-by-case basis and say, 'You know what? Maybe he doesn't pose a threat,'" Pauls said. "Whereas the wild boar farm that is in Yellowhead County, that produces wild boars … for meat, is a much bigger threat than what my boy would be." Originally, council ordered Pauls to kill or remove the boar by the end of June. But they changed the requirement after an appeal, giving her six months to remove Wilber from the county. The decision was made because wild boars are considered invasive in Alberta, Mayor Wade Williams told CBC News, adding that the council is policy-driven and is not making any exceptions. Pauls finds that perplexing, though. "I'm not a random resident here in the county. I am a registered not-for-profit," she said. "We didn't go seeking this kind of pet. A rescue will help wherever it needs to help, and I don't think that [Wilber] should be discriminated against." Pauls said Wilber poses no threat because he has been neutered, and is being kept in an enclosure he cannot escape. But under the right conditions, wild boars can sow a messy web of destruction in the environments they live in, according to Megan Evans, executive director of the Alberta Invasive Species Council, a non-profit. "They're quick to reproduce," she said. Wild boars reach sexual maturity between six and 10 months old, Evans said. They can have two litters per year, and average six piglets per litter. "That's almost an exponential population growth, if all of those pigs survive," she said. A threat to Alberta's ecosystem Wild boars check all the boxes of an invasive species, Evans said. They are omnivores, thus can survive in most environments, she said. They can ruin crop fields, such as by turning them over to search for tubers and grubs, or eating growing crops, like corn. In some cases, wild boards have been "really destructive" to native grasslands and the birds that live there, she said, noting that they'll turn over turf grass. The animal is still relatively new to Alberta's ecosystem: they were introduced to the Prairies in the 1980s as a way to diversify agriculture. According to the Agricultural Service Boards, Alberta has 13 wild boar farms. "From an invasive species ecological perspective, the wild boar farms in Alberta are the source of our wild boar at large," Evans said. Wild boars that go on the lam are one of the biggest reasons why the provincial government can't keep track of the animal's population. Currently, it's up to municipalities to draft bylaws prohibiting the ownership of animals they consider to be pests. But in a statement, the Office of Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson told CBC News that the province would consider making changes to legislation at large regarding wild boars, after enough feedback and research. "When at large, wild boar are an invasive, destructive pest that poses a serious risk for the introduction and spread of foreign animal diseases, which could have massive financial impacts for the entire livestock industry," the statement said. In the meantime, Pauls is looking into legal avenues to keep Wilber by her side. "If you sit down, he will lay down beside you. He wants you to rub his belly. He wants you to rub his feet," she said. The fence of his enclosure is well over a metre tall, so he cannot jump over it, Pauls said. But he'll prop himself up and take treats gently from a person's hand. "He's just so sweet, he really is," she said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Plane crashes near Deer Lake airport, say RCMP
Royal Newfoundland Mounted Police say a small plane has crashed in Deer Lake CBC reporter Lindsay Bird is on the scene and says the crash happened near the airport. First responders are also on scene. More details to come.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Wildlife rescue hopes blind, baby moose can find forever home at Toronto Zoo
A wildlife rescue in Ottawa is hoping the province will allow it to transfer a blind baby moose to the Toronto Zoo to live out its days in captivity, or it may be forced to euthanize it. The two-month old moose was found earlier this month on a rural road and brought to Holly's Haven Wildlife Rescue, where staff gave it the name Cedar. "He was walking through a field, calling out, probably calling out trying to find his mother and ... she was nowhere to be seen," said Lynne Rowe, director of operations at Holly's Haven. Veterinarians determined Cedar was entirely blind in one eye and has only partial vision in the other, meaning he likely won't be able to safely return to the wild, Rowe said. "For Cedar, if he was released in the wild, he'd be readily predated pretty quickly. He wouldn't survive long," Rowe said. LISTEN | Man who found Cedar the moose shares his story: The rescue is only licensed to rehabilitate animals and care for them until they can be released — not to care for animals in captivity, Rowe said. Province must decide if Cedar can be kept in captivity They also don't have the space. While Cedar is only about 60 kilograms now, a full-grown moose can stand up to six feet tall and weigh as much as 725 kilograms. "I will not be able to keep him when he grows much bigger. It costs a lot to feed him and I want him to have to not feel too confined," Rowe said. So, Rowe reached out to the Toronto Zoo, which currently has an empty moose enclosure, to see if it could provide a home for Cedar to live out his days in captivity. While the zoo says it would be willing to take Cedar in, whether it will be allowed to do so is up to Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, which must sign off on classifying Cedar as unreleaseable to allow the zoo to keep him in captivity. Otherwise, Rowe said Cedar will have to be euthanized. "The only way the Toronto Zoo can take in an animal that's native to Canada is in a circumstance like this. They cannot take healthy animals out of the wild or newborn animals that are perfectly healthy and can survive in the wild," Rowe said. CBC News reached out to the ministry about Cedar, but was referred to the Holly's Haven Wildlife Rescue and Toronto Zoo. Ideal outcome for Cedar to be releasable: zoo The Toronto Zoo's moose enclosure has been empty since its two moose Lily and Trilly died last year, said the zoo's CEO Dolf DeJong. But it will be up to the province to decide whether the Toronto Zoo would be a suitable home for Cedar. Cedar also needs to be further assessed by veterinarians and animal care professionals to determine if that's the best course of action for him, DeJong said. "The preferred outcome is maybe Cedar would be releasable," DeJong said. "That said, they also have to make sure Cedar can still live a life where with those limited capabilities, [that] he can thrive." DeJong said euthanasia would be the "last choice", but may be necessary if veterinarians determine Cedar won't be able to live comfortably in captivity long-term. So far, Cedar seems to be doing well in captivity, which isn't the case for all animals, Rowe said. "In Cedar's case, he seems pretty calm in his enclosure here, and I feel he would be able to adapt to a larger enclosure at the Toronto Zoo." DeJong said he hopes that's the case. "We potentially could present an amazing forever home for Cedar if that's what's deemed the appropriate next step for him."
