Message in a bottle found during Kauai beach cleanup

KEKAHA, KAUAI (HawaiiNewsNow)- A surprising find on Wednesday on the beaches of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai.

During a beach cleanup, Petty Officer Jon Moore found was a 'message-in-a-bottle' among a collection of ocean debris being picked up.

More than 40 personnel from PMRF teamed up with 16 students and faculty from Ke Kula Ni'ihau O Kekaha School in observance of International Coastal Cleanup Day.

The bottle was sent in 2006 from sixth grader Saki Arikawa in Kagoshima, Japan.

The 'treasure' traveled more than 4,000 miles and five years before it washed up on the Westside of Kauai. It contained a letter, four origami flowers and a photo of Arikawa's sixth grade class.

"I looked over and saw the bottle. I jokingly thought it would have a treasure map inside, but it actually had a message," said Moore. "When I started reading the letter, the Kanji looked familiar since I used to live in Japan and the name of the student sounded like an average Japanese name to me. I was just glad the letter was in English at the bottom," stated Moore.

The letter was dated March 25, 2006, as an elementary school graduation memory for Arikawa with the intent that the recipient would write a letter back.

"I'll definitely respond. I want to write back to the school and get their thoughts," said Moore.

He plans on visiting Kagoshima on his next trip home to visit his family.

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