Child's hidden letter found after 44 years
A letter written by a 10-year-old girl in 1982 was discovered behind a staircase during home renovations in Essex. The current homeowner used social media to successfully reconnect with the author, who is now a teacher.
Why it matters
This human-interest story illustrates the power of digital connectivity in bridging gaps across decades.
Image source, Jonathan Harwood Image caption, The letter would have been written before Michelle Harwood was born
A letter written by a 10-year-old girl in the 1980s and hidden in the cavity of the stairs at her home has been found 44 years later.
The house in Hockley, Essex, was undergoing renovation work when a worker found the scrap of paper and passed it to Michelle Harwood, who now lives there.
Filled with curiosity, the 36-year-old charity worker examined it - noting "really neat" handwriting for a child - and posted on her local Facebook community group on Thursday morning to track down the author.
Within an hour, multiple people had found and tagged Rachel Miles, now a 54-year- old teacher in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. And she responded.
The BBC contacted Miles almost half a century after she wrote the letter.
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