Diver finds iPhone in waterproof bag while cleaning the ocean and returns it to the owner

Losing something valuable and hoping for the kindness of a stranger to find and return it is a rare occurrence that fills us with gratitude and wonder. A similar thing happened during a routine dive off the coast of Florida to clean the oceans when 4ocean CEO and co-founder Alex Schulze discovered something that clearly still had value to someone.

The brand-new iPhone, sealed in a plastic bag, was in far better condition than the majority of the smartphones discovered by Schulze and his crews. The phone was saturated and unable to turn on. He wanted to return it to its rightful owner and documented the events in a video on TikTok that garnered over 3.9 million views.

The text overlay reads, "We found an iPhone during our clean-up. Let's return it!" He returned the phone to its grateful owner despite all odds. Like the bag, the phone had a waterproof case and Alex charged it and contacted the person's emergency number.

The diver was shown finding the iPhone in the ocean and exclaiming, "I got a brand new iPhone!" Later in the video, he explained, "So diving yesterday on a clean-up, I found a brand new iPhone in a waterproof case. There's an emergency contact that says 'mom.'" Schulze called the person and the mom praised him for finding her son's phone. She then came over to collect the phone. She explained how he lost the phone, "He was on a fishing trip with his dad. He's going to be so excited." She thanked him toward the end of the video.

People were stoked by the discovery and appreciative of the gesture. "This is the nice people we need thanks for cleaning our oceans," commented @3_mutts_. "You guys are amazing. Always so much positivity to our planet. The company mission all the way to your people. Awesome work" added @charaf1to. "My son just found someone’s brand new phone in the river. He did the same thing and they were so grateful," said @stephaniesherveyf.

"She had cash in her hands to give as a thank you! I think he declined," noted @xblondinxx.

"We're always stoked about the work we do cleaning the ocean," Schulze told Good News Network. "But it’s even better to make someone’s day by returning what’s important to them!" Their website explains that 4ocean was "founded on the belief that business can be a force for good and that the small choices we make every day, collectively, have the power to change the world."

They wish to "build a more sustainable future where humanity grows alongside nature, not at its expense." 4ocean is well-known for selling bracelets made of ocean plastic beads, and their work in the United States, Guatemala, and Indonesia has resulted in the removal of over 29 million pounds (13.1 million kg) of plastic from oceans, rivers, and coastlines. Their newest location is in Guatemala, on the Rio Motagua. It is one of Central America's longest and most polluted rivers, depositing approximately 2% of the plastic that enters our oceans.