Message in a bottle found in Alaska from Russian Anatoliy Botsanenko

NOME, Alaska – A man discovered a 50-year-old letter in a Russian Navy bottle on the shores of western Alaska.

Tyler Ivanoff found the Russian letter handwritten this month while he was collecting firewood near Shishmaref, about 600 km northwest of Anchorage, KNOM-AM reported on Tuesday.

"I was just gathering firewood," said Ivanoff. "I stumbled across the bottle and noticed that it was a green bottle with a cork. Not really cork, it was a tight stopper, and I could see inside the bottle that there was a note. "

Ivanoff shared his discovery on Facebook, where Russian speakers translated the message as a salute for a Russian Cold War sailor dating back to 1969, officials said. The message included an address and a response request from the person who finds it.

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Journalists from the state-owned Russian media network, Russia-1, have found the original author, Captain Anatoliy Botsanenko.

"It looks like my writing. For sure! Fishing fleet of the industry is! E-I-E-F! "Botsanenko said.

The message was sent while he was aboard the Sulak, a ship whose construction he oversaw in 1966 and that he sailed until 1970, said Botsanenko.

When images of the bottle and note were shown, Botsanenko was torn with joy, officials said.

At one point in his career, he was the youngest Pacific captain at 33, said Botsanenko.

Ivanoff was not sure he could send back a message, but was considering writing his own letters with his children.

"But it's something I could probably do with my kids in the future. Just send a message in a bottle and see where it's going, "Ivanoff said.

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