Mystery as message in a bottle paying tribute to couple is found in the River Thames

A father and son are trying to track down the person who penned a sad message in a bottle that was scooped from the River Thames.

James Herring, co founder of PR firm Taylor Herring, and his son Jack Herring, 12, were taking part in a two-day powerboating course on the Thames last Saturday, when they discovered a green bottle with a note scrunched up inside.

The letter, addressed to “whoever sees this message”, pays homage to a couple, Jon and Lisa.

It read: “This is in memory of a dear son and brother who died of a broken heart, two years after his beloved Lisa.

“He loved her so, so much. They had a passion for travel and one of their favourite songs was ‘Somewhere beyond the sea’.”

It continued: “So this is your final adventure, Jon, your last journey to paradise, and Lisa waiting on those Golden Sands – together forever.”

Mr Herring, 45, said he and his son have been desperate to find out who wrote the letter and what the story behind it might be.

He said the glass bottle had surfaced next to their boat's outboard motor and the instructor, who was accompanying them, handed it to Jack.

“I told Jack to wait till we were back home to open it but excitement got the better of him and he cracked the seal and rolled out the note onto a dry life jacket,” he said.

“On reading the note he had so many questions about Jon and Lisa and their song.

“Jack wanted to know. How did he die? How did she die? Can you actually die of a broken heart?

“In the car on the way home he searched up ‘Somewhere Beyond The Sea’ on my Spotify account and we both listened.

“Once we got home we lit a candle for them both – as the sender of the note had requested.”

Mr Herring posted a picture of the bottle on Twitter to try and get some more information about the mysterious note.

The tweet gained a lot of attention, with 3,500 people liking it.

He added: “A week later and we still don’t have the answers that he wanted – but we have both been touched by the thousands of people who’ve shared the tweet and tried to solve the mystery.

“Who knows one day maybe someone will get in touch.”

Do you know anything about the message? If so, email Olivia.tobin@standard.co.uk