SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
Sending out an S.O.S., a message in a bottle turns up on Satellite Beach. The woman who found it needs help trying to figure out where in the world it came from and who sent it.
Amy Niemann hit the sand at the beach recently, to celebrate. "We came out here for a 'blue moon' party," she said.
The blue moon is rarity, seen only once every two to three years. "Fifteen friends, all in a circle on the beach, with food and drink, and we were just waiting for the moon to rise."
A great time, with no expectation of anything unusual, but as the party rolled on, Amy and her husband decided to take a little stroll down to the water's edge. When they got there, she felt something bump up against her foot. So she reached down and made perhaps the most surprising discovery of her entire life.
"I basically looked down and there's a bottle on my foot!"
A bottle made of clear glass but Encrusted with barnacles.
"I just picked it up and I noticed there was somethin' white inside of it, and I thought, 'No, this is not a message in a bottle!'"
The message inside is written in what's most likely Spanish.
"My biggest fear was somebody needed help, and I was trying desperately to find someone to translate it."
She even called friend in the FBI. The handwriting is so bad, no one can figure it out completely, but it is written to someone specific.
"It's written to the 'Goddess of the Sea… Yemaya,'" said Niemann.
The letter also mentions the African Country of Angola, and the writer's son.
"It's a pleading letter to the sea for help or protection."
Niemann says she's not going to give up until she finds out exactly what the message says. next, she plans to contact a linguist and perhaps a Florida university that specializes in West African culture in Cuba.
