A five-year-old boy Ryder Goggin and his mom were celebrating his birthday in Mendocino, California when they found a bottle on the beach.

Inside was a note that said: “Hi my name is Chris. I am 10 years old and in the 5th grade. I live in Sacramento. Call me when you find this to let me know where it washed ashore.” The note was dated Sept. 5, 1988. Goggin and his mother tried to call the number in hopes of meeting the now-grown boy, but it was disconnected.

A search of old phone records by the data analysis company Intellaegis led to Jan Popp, who says she handwrote the message for her son, Chris, while they were on a camping trip.

Pop then told Inside Edition, “He told me what he wanted to say and I wrote it and put it in the bottle and put it out there.”

When she saw the bottle, she told them: “I can’t believe how good it looks!”

Sadly, Jan is now estranged from her son Chris. They haven’t seen each other in almost 19 years. Jan hopes the discovery of the message in the bottle could lead to a reunion with her now 38-year-old son.

“The past is the past, I don’t really give a hoot about that,” she said.