The family of a dad-of-two killed in a freak accident have been touched to receive a message from their loved one from 'beyond the grave'.
New Zealander Ryan Meads was killed in March after inhaling fumes while laying carpets in the West Coast settlement of Greymouth in the country's South Island.
His grieving sister, Leah Mead, told Stuff her 37-year-old brother was sorely missed by his family, after he left behind his wife and two children.
Then one day, Ryan's parents were contacted by a stranger, Levi Johnson, who told them he had found a Coca Cola bottle washed up on a beach about 14km south of Greymouth.
Inside the bottle was a note written 25 years ago by Ryan when he was just 12.
It read: "If you find this bottle please right [sic] and tell us where and when you found it. Date 1/8/94."
It also had a phone number for his parents house, who amazingly hadn't changed their number in all those years.
Leah said her parents initially thought she had written the letter.
She said: "I had a look at it and I was like 'it's not me, that's Ryan's hand writing'. I only have one brother so it is definitely his.
"It's pretty special to have it. He passed away in March this year but I know he would have been quite stoked to get it back. He would have had a laugh about it.
"The weird thing is about a month ago I was in the car and the song "message in a bottle" came on and I said wouldn't it be cool if you put a message in a bottle and it came back to you, then two weeks later we get this letter in a bottle from Ryan. It's crazy."
