Woman tracks down owner of surfboard that washed ashore after traveling 400 miles

When his surfboard drifted away from him during a November surfing session, Lee Brogan thought it was gone forever. Instead, it was found more than 400 miles away by a woman intent on getting the surfboard back to its owner.

Brogan lost the surfboard while at Runswick Bay in northeastern England. It ended up traveling across the North Sea, washing up in the village of Skeld in the Shetland Islands. On Dec. 28, Stephanie Riise and her partner Jake Anderson found the surfboard on the beach, and Riise immediately posted photos of it on a Facebook page called Shetland Seashore Discoveries.

Riise told The Scotsman she was hoping the owner would quickly claim it, and within an hour she received a message that the board belonged to Brogan. It was "unbelievable" how fast it all came together, Riise said, and once a "shocked" Brogan contacted her the next morning with proof that it was his surfboard, they worked on a plan to get it back to him.

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Joel Friedlander, a local courier, ended up packing the surfboard in the back of his truck, and dropping it off at Brogan's house — the trip took 18 hours, including a 12-hour ferry crossing. Brogan was so excited to see the surfboard that it "was like a child at Christmas," Friedlander told The Scotsman. The surfboard has a few dings and needs to be painted in some spots, but considering the long journey, it's in good shape. Everyone is content now that the surfboard is back where it belongs, and Riise said that seeing Brogan "so thankful and appreciative has really made it worthwhile."