Memorial necklace, lost in Iceland, is being returned to Pittsburgh woman
A memorial necklace belonging to a Pine woman, which honors her parents who died in a 2008 car accident, is on its way home after she lost it two months ago in Iceland, thanks in part to the help of a Pennsylvania 911 dispatcher.
Edward and Jane Fetcho were driving to their daughter’s cheerleading tournament in Columbus, Ohio, when they were involved in the crash. Her mother died at the scene and her father died before reaching the hospital.
After the accident, the George Irvin Green Funeral Home gave their daughter, Ashley Fusco, a necklace engraved with her parents’ fingerprints and the dates of their births and deaths.
“I’ve never taken it off in that nine years,” said Mrs. Fusco, now 31 and a physician recruiter. “Never.”
Duringa trip to Reykjavik, Iceland,during the last week of March,however, Mrs. Fusco somehowlost the necklace, and regretfullyreturned to the U.S. without it.
When she realized the necklace was missing, she contacted all the hotels she had stayed in and places she visited while there, leaving her contact information in case somebody found it. But there was no word.
At least, not until this week. Hera Bjork Thormodsdottir, 22, who works at a Reykjavik
souvenir shop called id ont speak icelandic, found the necklace on the floor and later posted pictures of it to Facebook hoping to find the owner.
“I found it in April for the first time but I didn’t really think much of it because customers forget things all the time so I just put it under the desk. Yesterday when I was working I saw it again and tooka better look at it and saw how important this necklace must be for the owner and I started thinking that I haveto find the owner,” Ms. Thormodsdottir wrote inan emailto the Post-Gazette this week. “I hesitated at first because I am not a very public person, but I couldn’t just let its it there and do nothing about it.”
Ms. Thor mods dot ti r’ s post appeared in the Facebook feed of Kimberly Robinson, 47,an emergency dispatcher for Tioga County in north central Pennsylvania. Ms. Robinson said she sees Facebook messages like this frequently, but this post caught her attention. The photos of the jewelry contained enough information that she thought she might be able to trackdown the owner.
Ms. Robinson searched obituaries for a couple who died on the same date in 2008, and found one hit: Edward and Jane Fetcho.
“Everything fit. The ages fit, the dates fit,” Ms. Robinson said.
She posted a link to the obituary as a comment to the Facebook post. She said she felt a connection to Mr. Fetcho because, like her, he was an emergency dispatcher for almost 25 years before his death.
“When I read the obituary and saw her dad was a 911 dispatcher — I’m a 911 dispatcher,” Ms. Robinson said.
She posted the link to the Fetchos’ online obituary at 6 p.m. Monday night. By 9:54 p.m., Mrs. Fusco found the original Facebook post and replied, thanking those who helped her find the necklace.
Mrs. Fusco said she was leaving a wedding reception at 9 p.m. Monday when she turned on her phone and saw a number of notifications on her Facebook.
“I was shocked at first to be honest,” she said. “I mean, it was two months ago when I lost it.”
Ms. Thormodsdottir said i dont speak icelandic is mailing the necklace to the U.S.
To Mrs. Fusco, the meaning of the necklace is more important than its value, and she appreciates everyone’s help in getting it back to Pittsburgh.
“It was really special to me,” she said. “I mean, it was my parents’ fingerprints and I wore it every day, so it’s really sentimental.”