A 10-year-old girl hid a handwritten letter under the stairs. 44 years later, her sweet note was discovered

NEED TO KNOW

• Letter written by 10-year-old girl in 1980s and hidden under stairs found after 44 years

• British homeowner Michelle Harwood, 36, discovered the handwritten note from 1982 while she was renovating her home, and social media users identified the writer as Rachel Miles, now 54, within an hour.

• Miles said the popularity of the time capsules in the 1980s prompted her to leave a message, telling the BBC she was “delighted” they had been found.

A letter written by a 10-year-old girl in the 1980s and hidden under the stairs has been discovered 44 years later.

Michelle Harwood was renovating her house in the British village of Hockley, about 40 miles east of London, when a workman found the newspaper and gave it to her.

After reading the note, the 36-year-old posted about it on a local Facebook group in an attempt to track down the author, who was named Rachel North.

“To a researcher,” the letter began. “This letter was lodged here on August 12, 1982, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.”

He continued: “My name is Rachel North, I live here with my mum, dad and brother and my cat called Kizzy. I’m 10 years old and I was born on the 11th of February and I was born in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.”

Within an hour, several people had found and tagged the writer, a 54-year-old teacher living in the town of Milton Keynes, about 85 miles away, now known as Rachel Miles.

“Wow, did you find the money I buried with it? Lol,” Miles replied, alongside a smiley face emoji. “Yes, it’s me. Cool writing x.”

Her brother, Mike North, also commented: “This is amazing and I remember her hiding that letter! Fame is finally for Rachel and Kizzy the cat of course”, joking that his own name “didn’t deserve to be mentioned” in the letter.

Speaking to the BBC, Miles explained that time capsules became popular in the 1980s thanks to the British children’s TV show. Pierre Bleuand said she remembered writing the note after her father found the space under the stairs.

“I just thought it would be kind of nice to post a letter for the future and I’m obviously really happy to see that someone found it,” she told the TV station.

Miles said it was “nice” to relive her childhood and see comments from people who remembered her as a child, despite her moving out of the area, according to the BBC.

Harwood, meanwhile, told the BBC she got “goosebumps” when reading the letter, which “had been there longer than I’ve been alive.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Harwood said she didn’t expect to find the writer, let alone be in contact with Miles that morning.

“I think social media is great for this sort of thing because so many people are connected,” she told the BBC.

PEOPLE has contacted Michelle Harwood and Rachel Miles for comment.

Read the original article on People