Japanese Boy's Soccer Ball, Swept out to Sea by the Tsunami, Washes up on US Coast

16-year-old Misaki Murakami lost his home in the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last year. A prized soccer ball inscribed with the names of his friends was among his lost possessions. Now it's turned up a year later and 3,100 miles away in Alaska:

Radar technician David Baxter spotted the soccer ball along with a volleyball on a Middleton Island Beach, a remote area in the Gulf of Alaska, last month.

He noticed the Japanese writing, and asked his wife, who was coincidentally Japanese, to translate the words for him, according to NHK news.

A quick search revealed that Osabe Elementary was located in the tsunami zone, leading Baxter to believe the balls were part of the debris that had floated across the Pacific.

After some research, Baxter was able to track down Murakami, who was shocked to hear that his ball has been recovered.

Link -via Maetenloch | Photo: ABC News