AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Central Texas father and son duo can add “treasure hunters” to their list of accolades, after discovering a message in a bottle washed ashore at Padre Island National Seashore last weekend.
Markus Hogue and his 12-year-old son, Gabriel, were searching for seashells for Gabriel’s mom and girlfriend, Liah, on the beach when they saw the bottle sticking out of a pile of debris.
“We were walking and saw a lot of debris and then saw a bottle and were surprised when we picked it up and saw a note in there,” Markus said. “[Gabriel] thought it was full of sand, and then we started looking more and realized it’s not English — where’s this from?”
At first, Gabriel thought it might be some sort of miniature map. Then he saw seahorses and other drawings on it and his mind drifted elsewhere: a possible treasure map.
Markus and Gabriel Hogue were searching for seashells last weekend when they discovered a message in a bottle washed ashore at Padre Island National Seashore. (Courtesy Markus Hogue) 
Markus and Gabriel Hogue were searching for seashells last weekend when they discovered a message in a bottle washed ashore at Padre Island National Seashore. (Courtesy Markus Hogue) 
Markus and Gabriel Hogue were searching for seashells last weekend when they discovered a message in a bottle washed ashore at Padre Island National Seashore. (Courtesy Markus Hogue) 
Markus and Gabriel Hogue were searching for seashells last weekend when they discovered a message in a bottle washed ashore at Padre Island National Seashore. (Courtesy Markus Hogue) 
Markus and Gabriel Hogue were searching for seashells last weekend when they discovered a message in a bottle washed ashore at Padre Island National Seashore. (Courtesy Markus Hogue) 
Markus and Gabriel Hogue were searching for seashells last weekend when they discovered a message in a bottle washed ashore at Padre Island National Seashore. (Courtesy Markus Hogue) 
Markus and Gabriel Hogue were searching for seashells last weekend when they discovered a message in a bottle washed ashore at Padre Island National Seashore. (Courtesy Markus Hogue)
Markus and Gabriel have traveled across the country looking for treasure on trips, finding pieces of gold and bottles full of sand in the past. But a proper message in a bottle? That takes the cake, Gabriel said.
The two waited until meeting with KXAN News on Thursday before opening the bottle. How, exactly did they maintain that kind of patience and resilience?
“It’s everything you want inside a little, small bottle, just staring at you,” Gabriel said.
For Gabriel, that delayed unveiling is best described as “pain.” Markus added he wanted to not only memorialize the moment on camera, but also consult with UT experts on ocean currents to find out where it might’ve traveled from.
Katherine Strickland, the maps coordinator for UT Libraries, joined the Hogues and KXAN Thursday for the big reveal.
After smashing the bottle open, Markus unraveled two pieces of paper. The first was a map of ocean currents, while the second was a letter written in Spanish to someone’s daughter, telling her how much they loved her and to never forget that. On the front of the letter, there was a phone number.
After the first phone call attempt went to voicemail, Markus received a call back from a woman in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She said her parents went on a cruise in the Caribbean last year and were given a message in a bottle kit to send; they chose to write her a letter with it.
Strickland said ocean currents flowing in the Caribbean travel northward, and likely carried the bottle along Central America and Mexico toward the Gulf Coast before depositing it at Padre Island National Seashore.
The letter’s intended recipient said the Hogues could keep the letters for themselves. Markus said he’s going to frame the two pieces of paper as a reminder of their travels and journey together — treasures worth more than gold.