A grieving family who wanted their son to have ‘one last adventure’ put his ashes, a note and some money into a bottle and threw it into the ocean.
Loved ones of 39-year-old Brian Mullins, a tow truck driver from Texas, felt the best way to commemorate his life was to let him be free.
Mum Darlene explained that he was an avid fisherman but was never able to go ocean fishing before he died this spring.
It seemed fitting to let his ashes go into the open waters and wash away.
The bottle ended up travelling from Texas to a beach in Florida, on a 1,401.5 mile journey.
The note, complete with $4 (£3.25), reached the hands of Sergeant Paula Pendleton of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
The Mullins family hoped the finder would use the money to give them a call and explain where it ended up.
After Paula lost her own husband this year, she was left in tears seeing the note and needed a moment before she could place the call.
In pictures shared on Imgur, the note can be seen, reading: ‘Hello, this bottle contains the cremation ashes of my son, Brian, who suddenly and unexpectedly passed on March 9, 2019.
‘More than anything, he longed to be free, so I’m sending him on one last adventure. This bottle was launched from Destin, Florida.
‘If you find it, please call or text me and let me know. I have left $4 to cover the call. Feel free to add your own note, then kindly set him free once again.
‘My son was 39 years old at the time of his passing and he was deeply loved. Please keep him travelling. Blessings.’
A second note from Brian’s 14-year-old daughter reiterated the same message.
She wrote: ‘It has struck our whole family pretty hard and, so far, it has been a very hard road. But, like my granny said, he loved to be free. So, that’s exactly what we are doing.’
Reading the messages made Paula think of her own husband who passed away after falling ill last year, aged 50.
She said: ‘I sat in here, in my patrol car, and cried like a baby’.
Determined to continue Brian’s journey, she put the contents back inside and is sending the bottle out to the Gulf of Mexico.
‘I am putting the note back into the bottle with Brian’s ashes and delivering it to a friend who is a charter boat captain,’ she texted the Mullins.
‘He has offered to bring Brian way out into the Gulf so he can continue his adventure. But, before that, I want you to know he got to do a ride-a-long with a deputy before drifting out once again.’
Safe travels, Brian.
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