A 5-year-old boy from Plumstead, London released a silver balloon into the air along with a special note: “How far did it go? Post on Facebook.”
A day later, a woman named Marijke Vikenburg shared a photo of Archie Brookman’s balloon on Facebook with hopes that he’d see it. She wanted to let him know that her friend found it more than 300 miles away in Oudewater, The Netherlands. (The moment is reminiscent of the stranger who found a balloon a girl sent to her father in heaven more than 400 miles away.)
Vikenburg's plea to find Archie quickly became successful, which isn't so surprising with the power of social media. Luckily, Vikenburg shared the picture on Art Plumstead, a Facebook page that Archie’s aunt follows. The photo was also shared more than 100,000 times by other users attempting to help.
Archie and his mom were stunned when a stranger found the balloon. They said they sent out the balloon without any expectation that it would actually be found, especially so far away.
“I didn’t think it would come back at all,” his mother, Nichola Doyle, said during an appearance on ITV London. “I didn’t expect to get a reply.”
View the photos below and please SHARE this incredible story with your friends!
Archie, a 5-year-old boy from London, released a balloon into the air with hopes that someone would find it. He also included a special note.
The balloon was found a day later more than 300 miles away in The Netherlands.
The note asked the person who found it to share it on Facebook and Marijke Vikenburg did so.
Watch Archie and his mother speak about the incredible balloon on London TV.
