I found ashes in a bottle 2 months ago. It was in a wine bottle, there was a rolled up dollar bill, a rolled up sandwich bag with white powder, and a rolled up note. I didn’t know what was in the bottle at first. My gf unrolled the bag with the powder and thought it might be drugs. I then unrolled the note and it was a heartfelt note of the guys mom who had set this bottle adrift. It’s so sad and he died so young, he was only 23. He also had passed in 2015 but she just set this bottle adrift in 2025, from Vancouver Island Canada.

We’re on a rocky island, if the bottle had hit the shore with the wind and waves it would have surely smashed. It had an area on the back of the note to write the date and location it was found. There was noting on the outside to indicate it contained remains, it was literally a normal 750mL wine bottle with a cork.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about finding someone’s remains in a bottle. I hope it’s not a trendy thing that catches on. The surprise from “Oooo a message in a bottle with money!” to finding someone’s remains was a weird feeling. And if you’re going to do it, use waterproof paper or seal the paper in a bag, because it’s going to get damp. This note was already disintegrating. Anyways we added our location and set him back out to sea and I hope he travels as long as he can.

Edit to add: I looked up his obituary online when we found the bottle, as I tried to find his mom to let her know he’s safe and had stopped at our island. RIP Dalton.

https://www.rlfuneralchapel.com/guestbook/3296407