New Jersey

NJ family discovers message in a bottle — and tracked down its Irish author

Published

1 year ago

August 26, 2023

NJ family discovers message in a bottle — and tracked down its Irish author

They got the message.

A New Jersey couple discovered a letter in a bottle that drifted in the ocean for four years, floating more than 3,000 miles from Ireland — and managed to track down the note’s author following an international search.

Frank and Karen Bolger had been cleaning up trash along the beach in North Wildwood with their granddaughter, Autumn, on Aug. 16 when they noticed a glass bottle with a note stuffed inside.

“Greetings from Ireland. I have thrown this bottle into the sea for someone to find another day,” read the letter, dated July 17, 2019.

“Maybe it’s traveled down to Africa or to Iceland! I won’t know if someone found it, but I hope it is found,” the message concluded, which was only signed by “Aoife.”

Bolger shared the story of his family’s stunning with IrishCentral, hoping that it might lead them to Aoife.

News of the Bellmawr couple’s mission quickly went viral, eventually making its way to the letter’s author, Aoife Byrne, of Bray, Ireland, about 15 miles south of Dublin.

Frank and Karen Bolger discovered a message in a bottle from Ireland, and launched a mission to find the note’s author.

Facebook Karen DiPietro Bolger

Karen Bolger, Autumn, and Frank Bolger — The Bolger’s found the message in a bottle while cleaning the beach with their granddaughter, Autumn.

Byrne’s father, Martin, had been watching a segment on local Irish TV station about the Bolgers’ search and realized the Irish girl the couple was looking for was his daughter, Irish News reported.

The father-daughter pair connected with the Bolgers, and Byrne sent them a scribbled note to prove her identity as the note’s author.

“I was shaking,” Bolger told WPVI-TV. “I couldn’t believe it. I never thought we would find her.”

The message was written on July 17, 2019. — Aoife Byrne’s message was written on July 17, 2019.

Aoife Byrne and her father, Martin — Byrne learned the Bolger’s discovered her note after her father saw a new segment about their search.

Byrne said that she had been on Ireland’s eastern shore in 2019 when she found the bottle and decided to send it on a transatlantic voyage.

“I found this little bottle washed up and I said, ‘I’ve just got to put a message in. I won’t get my hopes up somebody would get it.’ And I threw it straight into [the] middle [of the ocean],” Byrne told Bolger, according to a video posted on Facebook.

“I never expected it would get to America, I thought it be either down south or up north.”

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New Jersey

Surprising reason why this Democrat is attending Trump’s inauguration

Published

4 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Surprising reason why this Democrat is attending Trump’s inauguration

At least one big-name New Jersey Democrat will travel to D.C. for Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday.

Gov. Phil Murphy said he will be on hand to watch Trump take the oath of office a second time. That‘s even as several other top members of his party from across the country are skipping the event.

Murphy this week was asked to explain his decision compared to Democrats who feel their attendance would validate the Republican former and future president over Jan. 6 and other polarizing views and policies.

The governor said what convinced him to go was Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2020. Murphy said he and First Lady Tammy Murphy went and were surprised to see who was among the crowd.

“It was socially distanced, so it was not like your normal tableau,” Murphy told reporters at the Statehouse in Trenton on Monday. “We were struck by the amount of Republican governors who showed up. And not just by how many but who they were. Kristi Noem (of South Dakota), Doug Burgum (of North Dakota), Doug Ducey (of Arizona), Asa Hutchison (of Arkansas).

“It’s the right thing to do no matter all of the challenges and issues with Trump … and frankly, the big one to me is I just can’t believe the American people have given him a pass on denying that he lost four years ago. Still, I believe with all my heart it is still the right thing to do for the country and for the office.”

Democrats have cited numerous reasons for ditching Trump’s swearing-in Monday, whether it being the lingering uneasiness of Jan. 6, because the event is being held on Martin Luther King Day, or out of fear for their safety. Others have not said why they won’t be there.

The inauguration, usually held outside the U.S. Capitol, will instead be inside Monday because of freezing temperatures.

Murphy and Trump have long had a kind of love-hate relationship. The governor has repeatedly criticized Trump and fought his policies on immigration, guns, and taxes in court.

Still, the two collaborated on COVID-19 response and the Gateway Tunnel project during Trump’s first term. Murphy also visited Trump at his Bedminster golf club last summer after the assassination attempt on the ex-president. Then, after Trump won back the White House in November — and performed better than expected in blue New Jersey — Murphy said he got a phone call from Trump.

Murphy notes by the time he leaves office next January, he is the Democratic governor who will have served the longest under a Trump presidency, coming into office a year into Trump’s first term and exiting a year into his second.

That, Murphy argues, gives him a good perspective on how to handle Trump, even as Democrat sound alarms over what may happen to undocumented immigrants and reproductive rights under his new tenure. The governor has said he will “fight like hell” against Trump on some issues and try to find “common ground” on others.

That’s similar to stances that other Democratic governors have taken on Trump, who is famous for enjoying praise as much as he enjoys dishing out insults.

“I will never back away from partnering with the Trump administration where our priorities align,” Murphy said Tuesday during his latest State of the State address. “But just as importantly, I will never back down from defending our New Jersey values — if and when they are tested.”

To that end, Murphy said during the speech New Jersey will join other blue states in stockpiling a supply of medication used in abortions.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @johnsb01.

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New Jersey

New Jersey Titans pull ahead in the third to defeat Maryland Black Bears – The Rink Live

Published

12 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

The New Jersey Titans were victorious against the Maryland Black Bears on Friday, Jan. 16, 2025 at Middletown Ice World Arena.

After two periods, the teams were tied at 0, but New Jersey pulled away in the third, winning the game 2-0.

The Titans first took the lead early in the third period, with a goal from Owen Leahy, assisted by

James Schneid

and

Blake Jones

The Titans increased the lead to 2-0 with 52 seconds remaining of the third after a goal from James Schneid, assisted by

Nikita Meshcheryakov

and

Ryan Friedman

Next up:

The teams play again on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 at 6 p.m. CST at Middletown Ice World Arena.

New Jersey

Fmr. South Jersey camp director accused of sex assault released pending trial

Published

20 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Fmr. South Jersey camp director accused of sex assault released pending trial

Friday, January 17, 2025 10:53PM

Fmr. camp director accused of sex assault released pending trial

A former South Jersey camp director accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy is out of jail.

DEPTFORD TWP., N.J. (WPVI) — A former South Jersey camp director accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy is out of jail.

Forty-six-year-old Tara Carr, of Woodstown, is accused of assaulting the 14-year-old four times last year and sending him inappropriate videos and photos.