Mary Strand, 71, and her husband David, 75, from Minnesota, have been married for 46 years, and 13 years ago David marked their 33rd anniversary by surprising his wife with a stunning diamond ring. Unfortunately, the ring — which featured a large diamond surrounded by 16 smaller stones — never fit Mary properly, and one day disaster struck. The ring slipped off her finger and into the toilet. She immediately threw her hand into the toilet, desperately searching for the ring. She finally called David, who just happens to own a sewer and drain cleaning business, to come to the rescue. David took the toilet out in hopes of shaking the rink loose, and even snaked a camera 200 feet down the train. With no luck, the couple reached out to municipal workers to have them check the city’s pipes, but were once again disappointed. Devastated, Mary thought she had lost the precious ring forever — until just a few weeks ago when she received a call letting her know that the ring had been found more than a decade later at a water treatment plant a quarter of a mile from her home. Three wastewater workers had discovered the ring while trying to fix a machine and began a week-long public campaign to find the owner. Mary’s daughter just happened to spot the notice on a neighborhood message board and quickly alerted her parents. Two jewelers confirmed that the ring was the same and compared Mary’s odds of being reunited with the ring to winning the lottery. After 13 years of floating in grit and muck, 4 of the tiny stones had fallen off and the gold band was quite smudged, but Mary said the ring was still “absolutely gorgeous.”
