MOSCOW - A German boy tossed a message in a bottle off a ship in the Baltic Sea some 24 years ago, and now he has received an answer.

A 13-year-old Russian, Daniil Korotkikh, says he found the bottle recently while walking on a beach with his parents in the Kaliningrad region.

Frank Uesbeck, who lives in the western German town of Coesfeld, was five years old when he sent the message afloat in 1987. It included his return address, allowing the Russian teen to track him down.

Uesbeck and Korotkikh tell The Associated Press they have communicated over the Internet and plan to send each other letters.