Wooden Boat From Minnesota Found 27 Years Later in Michigan’s UP

After a week of trying to solve the mystery, the Duluth Public Schools have figured it out.

A Wisconsin couple was visiting Michigan's Upper Peninsula last week. They found a remote beach and decided to poke around a little bit. That's when they found a tiny, beat-up wooden boat that had washed ashore.

Upon further inspection, they realized that there was a message on the bottom of the boat. It read:

"I am traveling to the ocean. Please put me back in the water. Will you send information on your whereabouts to:

Lakewood School

Room 116 & 118 5207 N. Tischer

Duluth, MN 53304"

The one thing that was NOT on the bottom of the boat, however, was the date. So, the Wisconsin couple contacted Duluth Public Schools in Minnesota to find out when the boat was launched.

Fortunately, it didn't take more than 24 hours to solve the mystery - former teachers Bonnie Fritch and Brenda Schell reached out with the following story from the 1993-1994 school year:

"Brenda and I did a unit of Paddle to the Sea. We mapped out the travels of the canoe through the Great Lakes. A friend of Brenda's made the boats for us and our classes painted them and added the message to the bottom. On our end of the year field trip for our Duluth unit we stopped at Brighton Beach to launch the boats. I am not sure what happened to Brenda's boat but mine was spotted a year later up the North Shore. The people put a second coat of varnish on the boat and relaunched it. I thought we wouldn't hear anymore about it. Amazing it is still out there."

Not only that, but they shared a picture of the launch of the little boat, more than 20 years ago.

Such a FUN story and we love that they figured it out!