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Family leaves message in a bottle for daughter after death

By Deanna Bettineschi
By Deanna Bettineschi

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The mystery surrounding a message in a bottle is solved.

Jeanne Laxton was hoping to find out who the message belonged to after she found it while picking up trash during an International Coastal Cleanup.

The message reads, "My sweet Olivia, I hope this finds you well. I love you always. Always in my heart always in my mind. Love Daddy."

Little did she know, the family and friends of Olivia Dunham were watching our story.

"I said, 'That's our note,'” said Olivia’s mom, Elizabeth Farrar.

Action News Jax met with Olivia’s mom, Elizabeth Farrar, and learned there was a much deeper story behind the letter.

Olivia was a 14-year-old girl who was fun, loving, and had an ear for classic rock.

But Farrar said she eventually began to notice a change in her daughter.

“I kind of started noticing she wanted to sleep more and there was less motivation,” said Farrar.

Farrar learned her daughter was depressed and took her to get help.

But on Sept. 9, 2014, Olivia committed suicide.

“I think I knew, I felt something different, like she's no longer here. I could feel it,” said Farrar.

This year, on the anniversary of her death, her family wrote messages to her,  just like the one Laxton found.

And through the sadness, her family has used their pain as motivation to help others battle depression.

“This year, all I've tried to do is educate people around me about it,” said Farrar.

She says there's a walk for suicide coming up, if you would like more information about that walk, click here.

WJAX

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