A tenacious sheriff’s deputy has pulled off something of a miracle and recovered an engagement ring lost three weeks ago in the parking lot of a Florida Target, according to a sheriff’s office in North Florida.
The needle-in-a-haystack task was accomplished when Nassau County Deputy Mitchell Spencer decided to go at it like a missing person’s case.
Maggie Prescott dropped the ring Aug. 15 at a Target in Yulee, and she wasn’t sure exactly where it fell. The store is about a 24-mile drive north of Jacksonville..
Among the gold and diamonds, she noted there was a single engraved word: “Always.”
“Unbeknownst to the owner, it was picked up by a young boy and given to his mother. The woman kept the ring safe, hoping its rightful owner would be found,” the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said in Sept. 10 news release.
“Deputy Spencer (worked) tirelessly with Target to review security footage and transaction records. After obtaining corporate approval, Target provided crucial information that led to identifying the family who had found the ring.”
With the dots connected, the sheriff’s office was able to contact the family that found it and get the ring back, officials said.
A photo shared by the sheriff’s office on Facebook shows the moment Spencer returned the ring — in what appeared to be a plastic evidence bag.
Prescott praised the sheriff’s office and Target for cooperating with the search.
“Crying so many happy tears. ... I get married in October and this has been such a huge stress and you guys keeping my hopes up meant the absolute world,” Prescott wrote in a Facebook post.
”Thank you to the selfless, kind, truthful individual that found the ring and kept it safe while we searched for her. My faith in humanity is restored. ... Next stop: super gluing this ring to my finger!”
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