A lady who misplaced her phone at sea could not believe her good fortune when it came up 460 days later in functional condition.
Clare Atfield, age 39, lost her iPhone 8+ while paddleboarding off the coast of Havant, Hampshire, her hometown.
On August 4, 2021, when she went off her board, she didn’t realize her phone had fallen from the lanyard around her neck until long after it had sunk beneath the waves.
Ms. Atfield never expected to see the phone again despite placing it in a waterproof phone bag.
460 days later, when a local dog walker from nearby Eastney beach claimed to have Ms. Atfield’s phone, she was astonished.
39-year-old Clare Atfield could not believe her good fortune when the iPhone she misplaced in August 2021 came up in November 2022.
The phone was lost off the coast of her hometown of Havant, Hampshire, and found on Eastney beach (pictured)
The phone case included bank cards and a medical card with her mother’s phone number attached, which helped the Good Samaritan locate her.
The call was returned on November 7.
Miraculously, the phone was still functional, and although Ms. Atfield has since replaced it, she was able to retrieve priceless images and memories she had long believed were irretrievably lost.
She stated, “Everything’s incredible that it still works, yet it does so flawlessly.
Strangely, it had not traveled anywhere close to that far.
Miraculously, the phone was still functional, and while Ms. Atfield had already replaced it, she was able to retrieve priceless images and experiences she had long assumed irretrievably gone.
It was very far out to sea, but it was in one of those phone cases that came with my paddleboard, so it must have sunk and remained there.
Ms. Atfield stated that the phone’s back was entirely smashed, making it even weirder that water had not penetrated the device.
She stated, “I’m shocked more damage wasn’t done to it, considering how rough the surf can be there; it’s insane.”
I never imagined seeing it again or that it would be functional.