Disappearing ring’s story has happy ending
Too often, lost items stay lost, but faith, luck and sharp eyes deliver
My family and I recently went on a trail ride out in the Fisher’s Landing area. After the sun had set, my father-in-law realized his wedding ring was missing. Somewhere along the way, it slid off his finger and poof– simply disappeared.
This ring had been attached to that same finger for 48 years, so its disappearance was a bit of a shock.
He remembered distinctly having it at one point in the day, and so that helped narrow our search space.
We searched the vehicle in the dark, and we retraced part of our path on foot – no luck.
The next day, my husband and my father-in-law headed back out in the sunshine, searching for a few more hours on foot for the elusive gold band – no luck.
They talked to the folks at the store and the restaurant, leaving their contact information on the off-chance that someone turned it in, and I posted a message on Facebook on a few river-related pages in the hopes that someone might find it.
Alas, no luck, although several people had reached out to let us know they were looking.
A week later, we drove back out and again, checked in with the store – still no luck.
As we set up our camp site, my husband happened to glance down and found quite the surprise.
Wrapped around a rock, right at his feet, was his father’s gold wedding ring.
It was in a spot that had been searched several times, nestled in a sea of gravel in the road – vehicles likely drove over it countless times.
And yet, miraculously, the ring wasn’t damaged.
The next day, I posted on the river-related Facebook groups a thank you for the help looking, and the response was simply amazing.
Over 1,000 people reacted to the post, with almost 100 comments. People were genuinely happy the story had a good ending, and their posts were incredibly kind and thoughtful.
And really, this is the type of story that often ends in the unknown. Lost items don’t always make their way back home.
In this case, we just kept looking, and my father-inlaw, especially, didn’t give up hope. He kept the faith that his ring would be OK.
And on Wednesday, I’m happy to report that ring will mark its 49th wedding anniversary, safely back on its rightful finger.
Was it good luck, or good timing, or just the right angle of sunbeam to illuminate that ring tucked into the gravel? Or was it simply a combination of faith and sharp eyes on the lookout? Either way, that ring is now a great addition to the family lore!
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