NW Indiana Man Searching For Author Of Love Letter After It Lands In Yard Attached To Balloons

(CBS) -- A Northwest Indiana man would like to find the author of a letter - a love letter attached to helium-filled balloons that just happened to drift into his yard on Christmas Eve.

"I thought at first it was a plastic bag blowing by," said Jim Bates, a retired steelworker.

He saw something out of the corner of his eye, "and thought nothing of it until she - my daughter - mentioned, 'It's not a bag, Dad, it's a balloon.'"

Actually it was several balloons. Attached to a letter that apparently a man had written to a woman named Tara who had died at age 41.

Bates reads part of it:

"I miss you dearly. A lot of people do. Thank you for allowing me to get to love and appreciate you and your sons. I miss you so, so much."

Bates says the letter was unsigned.

A few hours after Bates took the balloons inside, he says the helium warmed up and he sent the balloons - and the letter - back to the sky.

To read the full letter, click here. The letter does contain some profanity.