Sept. 9 (UPI) — A Hawaii man bearing a metal detector was able to recover an heirloom wedding ring one day after its owner dropped it into the ocean.
Cherie Monoa said she and her husband, Siu, were visiting Ulua Lagoon on the island of Ko Olina when Siu’s wedding ring fell off his finger in waist-deep water.
“My husband for some odd reason wore his ring to the beach,” Monoa told KHON-TV. “I guess it was just the excitement of being home and in the water.”
The couple attempted sifting through the sand with their feet and looking underwater with borrowed goggles, but they could find no trace of the missing ring, which Monoa said was a family heirloom.
Monoa contacted TheRingFinders, a nationwide group of metal detecting enthusiasts who offer their services helping to locate lost items.
Joe Au-Franz, a member of the group, agreed to search for the ring and went to the beach the next morning. Au-Franz said he initially had no luck finding the ring, but the couple joined him at the beach after a short time and were able to direct him to its approximate location.
“When we told him, ‘No, closer to that side,’ and then he finally found it, we were so relieved,” Monoa said.
Monoa said she and her husband have now pledged to make sure they aren’t wearing jewelry while swimming.