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.