Canadian woman’s letter arrives — after 45-year delay

MONTREAL – A 45-year-old letter mysteriously arrived in the mailbox of a Canadian woman, who received the ancient correspondence from her younger sister decades after it was sent, Canadian media reported Tuesday.

The missive, mailed by her then nine-year-old sibling, was sent in 1969 with a six-cent stamp, Anne Tingle told public radio CBC.

It arrived wrapped in plastic with a note from Canada Post apologizing for the envelope’s state, but not the delay.

“Dear customer, we sincerely regret that your mail item is damaged. It was found in this condition in the mail stream” the note read.

The envelope was addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. R.D. Tingle,” with only a street name and incorrect home number and was mailed from the city of Lethbridge, she said.

Written on the envelope was neither the intended city, Calgary, nor its western province of Alberta, but the letter recently arrived at Tingle’s new home in Calgary nonetheless.

Tingle said she was unsure why the correspondence finally reached her, but that she had forwarded her address when she moved.

The letter begins with a poem, which was written by the younger sister after she came to stay with Tingle to help after she had a second child.