Hoisington said it’s every kid’s dream to find a message in a bottle at the beach. Her daughter, Josie Law, 11, said at first she thought it was a piece of trash floating in the water.

BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. – When Paris Hoisington and her family found a message in a small bottle on the beach last month, it seemed the story had ended with the bottle’s 4,600-mile, eight-year ...