DELAND, Fla. — Talk about lost in the mail.

A postcard sent from a Stetson home to a man in Riverside, Calif., was returned this month with a "return to sender" stamp — and its 1956 postmark.

Mack McCormick, 59, did not send the postcard, but he lives in the home where the postcard originated.

"The card apparently has been in the twilight zone for 50 years," McCormick said. "It's not wrinkled or anything."

He used the Internet to track down the author of the note, George Hitz, 64, who now lives in Sudbury, Mass. Hitz, a former ham radio operator, included his age on the postcard and information about a radio contact he made in February 1956 with someone he called "Chief Operator Dave."

No street address was included for Dave, which may explain why the postcard was not delivered, postal officials said.