Soldiers unearth a hidden message following Katrina

Soldiers unearth a hidden message following Katrina by Leigh Bratina

While visiting the hurricane torn area of Gulf Port, Mississippi, I was allowed clearance into some restricted area's on the coast. I talked to and got to know a few of the servicemen that were guarding and securing the area. For two nights I brought home cooked meals to three wonderful gentlemen that were soldiers from the Delta Company Platoon, (1st of 293 Infantry) out of Huntington, Indiana. One of the soldiers, Trent Wright shared a interesting story that came out of Hurricane Katrina. During his duty there, He and some platoon members were at post on St Andrews Beach by the lighthouse (where it used to stand prior Katrina), when they happened upon a bottle was found that was partially buried in sand. Certainly, the bottle was unearthed by Hurricane Katrina. Inside the bottle was a letter. The letter was authored by a Gina Bonds of Boaz, Alabama. The handwritten letter read:

..To the finder of this bottle: I am a 8th grade student at Boaz High School in Boaz, Marshall County, Alabama. As part of a science project, this note and bottle were tossed into the Gulf of Mexico south of Pensacola, Florida (United States of America) on November 27, 1981. If you will fill in the requested information below and mail this paper to the address given below, a check for $5.00 will be mailed to you. Your help with this project is truly appreciated.
Sincerely.
Gina Bonds
Date when bottle was found:
Place where found (give nearby coastal town or prominent reference. please give state and country):
Comments:
Your name (print)
Your address (print)
Mail this sheet to:
Dr. David Wilson
Boaz High School
Brown Street
Boaz Alabama 35952

Inside the bottle there was also a copy of the letter in Spanish. Trent speculates that the bottle perhaps landed on one of the barrier islands in the Gulf from MS. Some of those islands are no longer there, following Katrina. Trent and his platoon members would really like to get in contact with Gina Bonds. I have done research on Gina Bonds, but keep coming up empty. I am asking for assistance. If anyone has any clever ideas how to locate Gina Bonds , I would love to hear from you. Both Trent and I would love to see this Katrina story have a happy ending by seeing that Gina finally gets the "A" she deserves for her project.