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Girl's Balloon Letter To Deceased Dad Finds Support 435 Miles Away At Auburn Burger Joint

AUBURN (CBS13) — A letter to heaven from a young girl to her dead father that was scrawled on a balloon has fallen to Earth.

The girl who wrote it lives 435 miles away from the parking lot of a burger joint in Auburn where it mysteriously landed.

It's not clear how long the star-shaped balloon was flying in the skies, but when it fell to Earth, it found the right people.

Jacob Brandt was leaving the Local Heroes after lunch last week when he came across a balloon crumpled on the ground.

"I asked them if they had a receptacle to deposit it in, cause I think it to be trash," he said.

Owner Lisa Swisley says she immediately noticed this wasn't just any balloon, but one with a letter from a young girl to her father who passed away.

"We started reading it and realized what we had here and got kind of emotional about it," she said. "'Happy birthday Dad. I will always be your little girl dad, don't forget that I miss you.'"

Swisley noted the name written on the balloon, and found the young girl on Facebook in Southern California.

"From where I can figure that she lives, it came over 400 miles," she said. I just drove from there. I know it's a long way, and a lot of empty space in between. And how it got here, I don't know."

But Lisa knew she wanted to do something, so she started asking for donations on Facebook to send the young girl a care package.

"Jewelry and photo albums, some letters, messages of support and love from here in Auburn," she said. "She asked in the letter to send her a sign and so maybe it came here for a reason."

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