Tragic girl’s message in a bottle found on shore
A MESSAGE in a bottle containing the ashes of a young woman who wanted to see the world has washed up in one of the remotest parts of Scotland.
The small pink plastic bottle contains a small amount of Laura Newman’s ashes along with a note asking those who find it to get in touch with her parents, who had put it into the sea near St Ives in Cornwall.
Laura, who was only 24 when she died in August 2016, was bedbound ever since she was 16.
She suffered from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy after twisting her ankle on holiday, which caused her extreme pain.
The condition meant that Laura did not respond to rest or treatment and eventually left her bedbound and in a wheelchair.
She had trouble moving, eating, couldn’t tolerate light, vibration or loud noise around her and her only contact with the outside world was eventually through her online friends.
Her parents wanted to scatter her ashes at all the places where she loved to travel and to put some of them in a pink bottle so she could continue her journey.
While out on a walk with his brother, John Macleod found the touching tribute to the 24-year- old on the shore of Scalpay, Outer Hebrides.
The 44-year-old fisherman was touched by the note and wants to hear about the bottle’s travels for years to come.
He said: “When we sat down and opened the bottle and saw there was a message inside we got a bit of a shock. I’ve never seen something like and probably never will again.
“I threw the bottle back into the sea last week to let it continue its journey and hopefully the wind hasn’t just sent it back in our direction.
“It just brings amazement to everyone that it’s travelled virtually from Land’s End to Scalpay in about seven months.
“Everyone I’ve told has been amazed about it. The email address in the message was wrong but I persisted with trying out different emails until I got the right one. “I think it’s a beautiful story. Mum Fay Newman, 59, said “This is the first time someone has gotten back to us and hopefully we’ll be hearing from people for years to come.
“We’ve looked at Scalpay online and it’s beautiful. She would have loved it.”