Thrift Store in Missouri Wants to Solve Mystery of WWII Love Letters: 'Amazing Find'

“There’s a lot of history, so I wanted to find who they belonged to,” store manager Tina Eifert said

A local Salvation Army store in Missouri turned out to be a treasure trove for a bygone love story when a collection of love letters from WWII were found.

Unbeknownst to those who work there until recently, the Salvation Army store in Hannibal, Mo., was the home to World War II-era love letters written between World War II soldier Chester McMeen and his wife Alma Bernice Modglin, who have both since passed away, according to NBC affiliate WGEM-TV.

Per the outlet, the letters were discovered by store manager, Tina Eifert, who then sent them to a local journalist, Megan Duncan. Together, the two read through the romantic letters while trying to find family members of the couple to pass the letters onto them.

Representatives from the Hannibal Salvation Army did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Related: Son of WWII Navy Vet Discovers the Love Story of His Parents Through Lost Letters: 'She Was His Life'

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“This was an amazing find. There’s a lot of history, so I wanted to find who they belonged to,” Eifert told WGEM-TV of the letters, which she initially discovered in 2023 in a Salvation Army donation pile.

The love letters chronicled the early days of the couple’s romance from the first letter written on Sept. 11, 1944, to the last letter dated Nov. 27, 1945, Eifert and Duncan said. McMeen returned home shortly after the last letter was written, and the couple went on to start their lives in Carbondale, Ill., and have three children, they added.

Related: Woman Turns Her Grandparents' WWII Love Letters Into Jewelry: 'They Had This Inherent Longing'

“[In the letters, Chester] talked about how ‘When I get back together, we’re going to open a business, we’re going to do these things!’ ” Duncan told WGEM-TV. “And then when you look at their lives, and you look at their obituary and you look at the pictures, all of that came true.”

Committed to notifying the couple’s next of kin, Duncan said that she found their son’s address, sent a letter and is awaiting his response.