The mystery of a North Sea message in a bottle found on a Swedish island after 47 years has been solved by BBC Scotland News.
Friends Ellinor Rosen Eriksson and Asa Nilsson found the bottle on Sweden's west coast back in February.
Inside was a damp note that was almost unreadable. They laid it out in the sun to dry, and were eventually able to make out some text. The full date appeared to be: “14.9.78.”
The two friends posted about it on social media in the hope of learning more.
It has now been established the letter referred to fisherman James Addison Runcie who had been on board the fishing boat Loraley, but who died in 1995. It was written by his then crewmate Gavin Geddes - who was amazed to be told it had been found 47 years after they dropped it overboard.
Runcie's sister Sandra Taylor, 83, happened to be visiting Cullen where she is originally from, and was stunned to be told the story behind the find in Sweden.
“It's absolutely amazing,” she said.
Asked what she thought her older brother would have made of it all, she said: “He would have been in stitches, he would find it hard to believe.”
She added: “He would have poured out a dram and said 'cheers'.”
Ellinor said they were “completely amazed” to find a “real message in a bottle,” and hoped to discover the story behind it.
“Where I live, we call this activity vraga - it means going out to find something lost or hidden, and to uncover its story. And that's exactly what we've done here, with your amazing help,” she said.
The two finders in Sweden said it was “fantastic” the mystery of the source had been solved, and Jim's sister described the story unfolding as “amazing.”
