The Victorian dress in the Maine antique mall was unlike anything Sara Rivers Cofield had seen before.

Its fitted bodice, puffy bustle and lace cuffs reflected a bygone era. As a vintage costume collector, Rivers Cofield recognized it as a dress from the 1880s — but despite its age, its delicate embroidery, bronze silk and metallic buttons appeared intact.

She haggled the price down to $100 from $125 as she wondered where she’d store the two-piece garment. The price was higher than she usually pays as an archaeologist who collects antique costumes and purses for fun. But it was the holiday season, so she splurged.

Rivers Cofield had no idea that the dress she bought in December 2013 would unravel a mystery a decade later. Inside a secret pocket tucked under the bustle were two crumpled sheets of paper with lists of seemingly random words and places:

Bismark, omit, leafage, buck, bank

Calgary, Cuba, unguard, confute, duck, Fagan

Notes on the margin of the papers appeared to depict time. A tag stitched into the dress had a handwritten name: Bennett.

Continue here: CNN