Today: a tiny post about a tiny–but very intriguing–message.

At the end of July this year, Amy Mayes was walking Cocoa Beach with her husband and kids when they stumbled upon a shell that appeared to have writing on its inner surface, according to WKMG News 6 in Orlando.

Photo: Amy Mayes

Not even a message, exactly–more of a record of something. But what? A wedding? A memorable vacation?

The writing simply reads:

Shane

and

Jolene

2/26/09

The couple who found the message in the shell–Amy Mayes and her husband–want to find Shane and Jolene and return the shell to them.

Personally, I want to know the story behind the shell! Why sign the shell at all? Why do that instead of a message in a bottle? Why everything!

I think we can find Shane and Jolene by working together to spread the word!

Here’s the deal: The shell has been in the water for 8 years. It’s possible that it was tossed in the waves at Cocoa Beach and has just been sitting there for all that time. But it’s also very possible that it was dropped in the sea (or left on the beach) somewhere along Florida’s east coast. My best guess is that it started out somewhere south of Cocoa beach–like Vero Beach, or Palm Beach… Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami are all also contenders.

Why?

Ocean currents!

The Florida Current actually originates in the Gulf of Mexico. It pushes into the Atlantic by squirming around the southern tip of Florida, and then heads north to join the Gulf Stream, like so:

So it’s totally possible that the shell got dropped south of Cocoa Beach, and has been swept north to Cocoa from wherever it started.

Of course, there’s only one way we will ever learn where it started, and that is to find Shane and Jolene. If you know anyone who lives in Florida–especially southern Florida–please pass this on to them.

Let’s find Shane and Jolene!