Message in a bottle found 45 years later

It is a note that was placed into a green 7-Up bottle by a then-10-year-old girl from Pennsylvania. The handwritten letter had a simple message on it - "Tell me when you pick it up. Please!"

Nearly 45 years later, that message in a bottle has been found.

On the message, Karen Ball wrote she had dropped the bottle from the Indian River in Delaware on Sept. 6, 1971. She left her address on the note for the prospective person who would find it to write back to Ball. But it was never located until recently.

Andy Berenty and his family were vacationing at Delaware Seashore State Park when he came upon the bottle with the piece of paper inside at the beach.

With the help of Facebook, Berenty ended up locating Ball - who just happened to be living at the same address that was written on the message.

During the 45-year time period from when that message was written until Berenty found it, Ball went on to graduate college and became a registered nurse. She moved back to her family's Pennsylvania home to care for her parents.

"I just ... I just couldn't believe it," she told DelmarvaNow. "I honestly thought it was a prank call or something."

Berenty still has the bottle and note and hopes to return it to Ball soon.