WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WTKR)— A family from Williamsburg, Virginia, found a bottle that had been floating in the York River for the last four decades.

In 1978, a 12-year-old boy from Poquoson threw a Pepsi bottle into the Poquoson River with a note inside.

The bottle traveled 30 miles over 40 years before ending up in the hands of Brian Daliege, who was out boating with his family on the York River on the Fourth of July.

"My son and I were collecting old bottles, and he had already found a couple," Daliege explained. "I happened to see this one on a 4-foot. little cliff, if you will, on the edge of the river."

"Knowing it was an older embossed glass bottle, your imagination kind of runs wild at this point to as to how old it could be," Daliege added.

The family took to social media, posting pictures to try to find the owner — and they did, a moment Daliege describes as "full circle."

Thursday, Daliege met up with the bottle's sender, Don Kendrick, and returned the bottle.

"We’re the first people to hold the bottle since it left his hand 44 years ago," Daliege said.

This story was originally reported by Ellen Ice on wtkr.com.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Judith Doughty cried tears of joy and disbelief as she was reunited with her dog, Skylar, who went missing three years ago.

Skylar is a 6-year-old Maltese. Doughty said she got him when he was a puppy, but one day he disappeared after going outside to use the bathroom.

She said he was with another dog but didn’t return. Her family searched for him and was devastated when they couldn’t find him.

Three years went by with no sign of Skylar, until last week, when Sherae Battle was driving to the hospital with her kids in Newport News.

“My kids were like, 'Mom, Mom, Mom, hold on. It’s a dog.' I'm like, 'Where?' He was just walking in the street, and I'm like, ‘Oh, my gracious,' so I did a U-turn in the middle of the street,” Battle said.

She said the dog went to a nearby wooded area to drink from a pond. She said she was worried he would fall in, and her kids used Goldfish crackers to lure him to them.

They brought him to the car and kept him for two days until the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter opened back up.

“I immediately scanned for the microchip, which is standard procedure for us when strays come in,” said Susan Jacobs, an animal services technician at the shelter.

She called the number on the chip, and it was owner Judith Doughty’s daughter, Ginger Vassar, who answered.

“I could hardly speak to her because she was screaming in excitement,” Jacobs said.

Vassar arranged to bring her mom to the shelter, but they didn’t tell Doughty why.

“The lady told me to have a seat,” said Doughty. “They said, 'We've got a surprise for you.'”

Skylar came strolling out, and Doughty was elated to have her precious pooch back in her arms.

“He started licking me; I started crying,” Doughty said. “It was a miracle to me. I still can’t believe I got him back after three years.”

Skylar was found about 15 miles from where he went missing.

"I'm so happy she was able to get her dog back. That's all that matters. I'm so happy," said Sherae Battle, the woman who brought the dog to the shelter.

Jacobs said Skylar was in good condition and appeared to have been taken care of. She said it's rare to see a dog reunited with his owner three years after going missing.

“It doesn't happen that often, but it has happened before. We're always so happy when it does happen -- thank goodness for microchipping. It's just awesome,” Jacobs said.

“Glad we got him to his right owner. I'm so happy that she got her dog back,” Battle said.

“I was sad when he was gone, but I didn’t give up. I prayed and prayed, and the Lord answered my prayers. Anyone else who sees this, I hope they try to look for their dogs,” Doughty said.

Watch the surprise video below:

This story originally reported by Margaret Kavanagh on WTKR.com.

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — As COVID-19 vaccination efforts ramp up, so do ways of treating the virus.

The FDA recently authorized the emergency use of new antibody treatment in high-risk patients who have mild to moderate symptoms.

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company performed a clinical trial on the experimental treatment.

Dr. Janell Sabo, the COVID-19 therapeutics platform leader for Eli Lilly, said the therapy combines both bamlanivimab and etesevimab drugs to help treat the disease.

“This is another important tool in the tool kit for the healthcare professionals in your area to use to treat patients who have an active infection,” she said.

Data from the pharmaceutical company showed the treatment, when given within 10 days of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 87%.

Sabo said the need for the therapies is critical even as cases continue to decrease.

“It’s an important option that people need to be talking about,” she said. “Today, still only one in six are actually getting treated in this high-risk population, which means five out of six are still at that risk of hospitalization, emergency room visits, needing to go to their doctor’s office, and potentially also death as an outcome.”

The antibodies, according to Sabo, are lab-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off the virus.

“Monoclonal antibodies that are called neutralizing antibodies are infused over 16 to 21 minutes,” Sabo said. “Typically, this is done in a healthcare facility known as an infusion center.”

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters are two of several locations that administer the therapy. Other infusion centers can be found at combatcovid.hhs.gov.

Sabo said the treatment is free but might not be for everyone.

“I think this is a really important treatment option, but it’s also a personal decision; it’s one between you and your healthcare professional,” she said. “What I really encourage people is to have a conversation with their physician because they’re best positioned to know your medical condition to know if it makes sense for you.”

This story was first published by Antoinette DelBel at WTKR.

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Sarah Noffsinger in Virginia has been busy for the past few days, packaging gifts to people she’s never met before. She includes a handwritten card signed with love before sealing the bags and boxes.

“I want people to feel like they weren’t ‘othered,’ I guess,” said Noffsinger.

Noffsinger runs the Gender Affirming Clothing Care Package Program out of her Norfolk home for the Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia (TAP VA). The website launched June 1 on the first day of Pride Month.

“Sometimes [transgender people] have to wear clothing that doesn’t align with their gender identity or gender expression, and that can be really dysphoric for a lot of people,” she explained.

Transgender people throughout Virginia can get free clothing that makes them feel comfortable in their own bodies through the new program.

“We want people to pick out clothes that they are going to feel comfortable in and confident in so that they can knock out that job interview or feel confident enough to come out to their friends and family or something like that,” said Noffsinger.

People can browse the online catalog and pick one to three items they like, and Noffsinger will ship them off - completely free of charge.

The program started with 100 pieces of clothing. Three days and 44 orders later, they’re down to eight items.

“Even newly ‘out’ trans people, they... you kind of have to redo your whole closet, which can be a very expensive and also emotionally tasking process to try and clothes and stuff like that,” said Noffsinger.

All the clothing is donated from Nomads Clothing Exchange, a Norfolk consignment store, and community members donated packaging and shipping supplies.

The program temporarily closes on June 10 and will reopen July 1 with new items.

“It feels good knowing that somebody is going to get a package, and like, open it up and feel like super excited about it, and put on a shirt or pants, and just like feel good about who they are, and feel confident in the body that they’re in because the clothing that they’re wearing fits well,” she said.

It’s a small but meaningful gesture to help more people feel proud to be seen.

TAP VA has a free clothing closet located in Portsmouth. People who are interested in shopping at that location should contact TransactivistVA@gmail.com for details.

TAP VA has an Amazon Wish List for supplies to support the program. The nonprofit is also accepting donations through their Give OUT Day fundraiser that ends on June 30 and their website.

This story was originally published by Kofo Lasaki at WTKR.