Feb. 22 (UPI) — Public works employees responding to a water main break in an Illinois town chanced upon a wedding ring on the ground and were able to use social media to reunite the band with the man who lost it.
The village of Arlington Heights said in a Facebook post that Ryan Holthouse, an Arlington Heights public works crew chief, was responding to a water main break in the village in early February when he found a wedding ring.
“Crossing the street, there was a puddle there, so I went to step over it and when I went to put my foot down, I saw the ring, right on the edge of the sidewalk,” Holthouse told the Daily Herald.
Photos of the ring were posted to the village’s Facebook page along with a map showing the spot where it was found.
The village said it received about 40 messages from people seeking their lost wedding rings, but none of the descriptions matched the inscription inside the band.
The post was eventually seen by a California resident whose parents live in Arlington Heights. She informed her father, the owner of the ring, who called the village and confirmed the date inscribed in the ring.
The ring’s owner, a man named Bruce, then visited Arlington Heights Public Works, where Holthouse reunited him with the ring.
Holthouse said Bruce told him it was the second time he had lost the ring.
“A garbage man found it the first time,” Holthouse said. “[This time] he said he was walking his dog and he put his hand in his pocket to get the bags, and when he got home later that night, he realized that it was gone. He was walking around, retracing his steps, kicking snow around.”
Holthouse said he could relate to the man’s story.
“I’ve also had the same thing happen, so I understand it,” he said. “I was luckily able to find the one that I lost in the snow.”