Losing a ring is not an uncommon occurrence. People lose rings all the time, but there’s a particular fear that comes with losing the precious item down the drain, mostly because you’re likely to never see it again. Especially if it gets flushed down a toilet, which is why one woman had written off the anniversary ring she lost down the commode more than a decade ago.
Mary Strand received a beautiful, unique diamond ring for her 33rd wedding anniversary from her husband, Dave, according to NBC affiliate KARE 11. The ring slipped off of her finger 13 years ago when she was in her bathroom, and by the time she realized what had happened, it was too late.
“It was swirling around. I truly dove for it, and it went down the drain,” she told KARE 11.
Surely, the woman was frantic trying to rescue the ring before it took up residence with the fish, but Strand had no luck grabbing the ring before it swirled out of sight.
Hope was not immediately lost though. In a wacky coincidence, Strand’s husband owns a drain and sewer company. The woman knew she had someone at her disposal who knew a thing or two about drains and would have the ring out in a jiffy. Dave did everything he could, according to KARE 11, including removing the entire toilet and searching the sewer line with a camera, but the couple had no luck recovering the ring.
“I was thinking, ‘He’ll never buy me another ring,’ that’s what I was thinking,” Mary laughed while telling the outlet. “I felt really bad, because it was a gift.”
u201cRecently, we found a ring at one of our regional wastewater treatment plants. This is a rare occurrence, and we want to return the ring to its owner! Please contact us if you lost a wedding ring down the drain: [email protected] or 651-602-1269.u201d— Metropolitan Council (@Metropolitan Council)
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Years went by with Mary assuming the ring had been lost forever until the Metropolitan Council posted on social media that a diamond ring was found at one of their waste treatment plants. Turns out, while workers were cleaning out the gunk from a machine, they spotted something sparkly that happened to be a diamond ring. The story about the found ring began circulating, which caused hundreds of people to inquire about it, but the Metropolitan Council wasn’t letting the ring go without proof.
They compared the ring to photos that were submitted, but it was Strand’s ring that looked like a match. According to KARE 11, two separate jewelers examined the ring and confirmed its likelihood to be a match for the photo of Mary’s ring before it was eventually returned.
What a wild ride of coincidence that reunited a long-lost ring with its rightful owner. Hopefully, the ring has been properly sized—and sanitized—and there will be no more mishaps around drains that lead to another incredible tale of happenstance. Maybe, for their next anniversary, Dave will buy something that’s easily tethered so it doesn’t meet the same fate as the ring.
You can watch Mary be reunited with her ring at the Metropolitan Council below.