Long- lost ring making full circle
A long- lost ring sat undisturbed in a Longmont backyard for more than 15 years — until earlier this month, when a couple stumbled across it sitting on the surface of the dirt.
Gabi and Ian Scott have been working to renovate the backyard of their home on Baylor Street for the past 1 ½ years. Earlier this month, after removing a back deck, Ian Scott spotted the gold ring.
The ring, with a real sapphire and diamonds, was dirty, but undamaged. Gabi Scott rinsed it off
with soap and water and realized this was not a piece of costume jewelry.
“I was able to see that it was 24karat gold,” Scott said. “Judging from the size of it, I knew it was a man’s ring, and judging from the stones, I knew it was real.”
As it turns out, the ring belonged to Bill Kidd and was part of a matching set with his wife, Chris Kidd, to commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary. The Kidds and their family lived in the Baylor Street home for 30
years, and sold the home about three years ago.
Scott, an art educator for several nonprofit groups, had been keeping the ring safe since its discovery. Realizing it was likely important to someone’s family, she said pawning the ring never crossed her mind. Instead, she planned to write a letter to try to reach the Kidds and explain the situation. The only contact she had for them, though, was a forwarding address. Then a random
Facebook encounter led to a solution.
On Oct. 17, Scott was chatting on Facebook about the CalWood fire, which could be seen burning from the intersection of Baylor Drive and Ithaca Court, near her home. During the conversation, she mentioned the location of her home. Molly ( Kidd) Brimm, who happened to be in the same conversation, messaged Scott and said she lived in Brimm’s childhood home. Brimm told Scott she was glad the home was safe, with the fires burning nearby.
“I said, ‘ Oh my gosh, Molly. This is crazy. I need to tell you something,’ ” Scott said. “I sent her a photograph of the ring, because I assumed it belonged to someone in her family. It turns out, it’s her dad’s 25th anniversary wedding ring.”
With the coronavirus pandemic upending lives across the globe and wildfires raging nearby, the return of the ring to its rightful owner was news that has brightened two families’ lives in an otherwise dark time.
“It’s exciting that the ring popped up on the surface of the ground, because it easily could have gotten buried forever,” Scott said. “When I cleaned the ring off and saw that it was 24- karat gold, it felt like a spark. I was like, ‘ I think I found something really special.’ ”
From her home in Orlando, Fla., Brimm said Thursday her father lost the ring in 2005, while working in the yard. Her parents were devastated when they discovered it had slipped off his finger.
Brimm’s mother was nearby when Brimm was chatting with Scott on Facebook. Scott sent a picture of the ring, which Brimm said she immediately shared with Chris Kidd.
“My mom couldn’t believe it,” Brimm said. “It was a shock that something like that could be found. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Brimm, who moved to Florida in 2002 and works for Walt Disney World, has a brother, Jon Kidd, who lives in Aurora and was able to pick up the ring. He’s planning on heading to Florida to visit family in December, when he will return the ring to his dad.
Until their conversation Saturday, Molly Kidd and Gabi Scott didn’t know each other. It turns out they have a mutual Facebook friend. That’s how they found themselves on the same Facebook chat earlier this week.
“I just can’t believe we happened to see the same message,” Scott said.