Woman finds bracelet honoring 9/11 firefighter washed up on Long Island beach

A woman from New York found a bracelet commemorating the life of an FDNY firefighter who was killed on September 11th 2001, washed up on a beach in Long Island.

The bracelet was made to celebrate the life of Michael Otten, an FDNY firefighter who died on 9/11.

His widow Marion Otten, of East Islip, gave it to her son Jonathan, but he ended up losing ot 10 years ago.

Found! The bracelet honoring fallen 9/11 firefighter Michael Otten was found 10 years after it was lost

Recovered: It was found by Marlene Quinn, who was mourning the death her brother, a volunteer firefighter

Treasured possession: Marion Otten said her son, Jonathan Otten (seen here on the right)  now keeps the bracelet bearing his father's name on his bedroom dresser

It was when Marlene Quinn was out walking on Robert Moses Beach when she found the treasured possession.

'I was walking along and a wave came up. It went away and that bracelet was there,' she said.

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The bracelet bore Michael Otten's name, and she instantly recognized the name as a local firefighter.

'Michael J. Otten,' the inscription read. 'F.D.N.Y. LADDER 35 9/11/01.' 

In memorium: The bracelet was made in memory of Michael Otten, an FDNY firefighter who died on 9/11

Marlene Quinn put the bracelet in the mail, along with a note

When the bracelet arrived, Otten's widow, Marion, didn't even know it was missing, she said

The item also had special significance for her because her own brother, Michael O'Neill, who was also a firefighter, had just died unexpectedly in the spring.

'I clutched it and held on to it for the longest time,' said Mrs Quinn said to NBC News. 

She tracked down the Otten family address and learned even more remarkable coincidences.

Not only were the late Mr Otten and her brother both firefighters, they both lived in East Islip and at one time, lived just a block apart.

Her brother also attended grade school directly across the street from Otten's family home, Mrs Quinn learned.

She sent the bracelet back to the Ottens with a handwritten note. 

The two women met up on Friday, convinced the bracelet discovery was fate

'Why now? Why did it wash up now?' Otten said to Quinn. 'You needed it. We needed it.'

'I knew they needed it and I thought it was my brother coming through,' Quinn said. 'There is another firefighter in heaven.' 

Marion Otten initially felt shocked, and then overwhelmed, she said, 'because people still remember, think about it.'

When the bracelet arrived, Otten's widow, Marion, didn't even know it was missing, she said.

Her son Jonathan had worn it in honor of his father. He lost it on the beach nearly a decade ago, when he was 11 or so.

'It was just a bracelet to me back then,' he said. 'It didn't have such a big meaning as it does now.'

'Things happen for a reason,' Marion Otten says. 'I see it as a sign.'

'There are no coincidences,' said Otten. 'There's a reason why it happened. It brings us together for whatever reason'

"We have a connection, I feel," said Marion Otten, who will visit her late husband's firehouse on the 9/11 anniversary on Thursday

Jonathan Otten now keeps the bracelet on his bedroom dresser. He's afraid to lose it again, she said.

'It's another tie to his dad and the department,' Marion Otten said.

The two women have since met up to discuss their loving families and those that they lost.

'To think all the poor souls we did lose on 9/11, it's someone from my hometown,' said Quinn.

'Why now? Why did it wash up now?' Otten said to Quinn. 'You needed it. We needed it.'

'There are no coincidences,' said Otten. 'There's a reason why it happened. It brings us together for whatever reason.' 

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