BRANFORD, Connecticut—Two rings lost on a snowy night are back on the fingers of its rightful owner.
It took weeks, but thanks to some expert police work, they were tracked down.
The engagement and wedding rings were lost at a rest stop on I-95.
The couple was losing sleep trying to find them and they thought all hope was gone, until Tuesday, March 12.
On Wednesday night, it was like Kim and Peter Reggiannini were renewing their vows at Troop F in Westbrook.
'I Feel So Lucky': Lost Wedding Rings Returned to Mass. Couple
A Massachusetts woman believed her wedding rings were lost for good when she dropped them at the rest stop off I-95 in Branford last month. http://nbcct.co/epxpPtr
由 NBC Connecticut 发布于 2019年3月13日周三
“I had given up all hope, so this is insane that these are on my finger right now,” Kim said.
The couple from Boston have been married for just a year and a half and their rings already have a wild story to tell.
It started on the night of February 17. It was snowy, and they pulled over at a gas station in Branford.
Kim briefly took off the rings to put on lotion.
“They fell off my lap at the rest stop,” Kim said.
They didn’t realize the rings were lost until an hour and a half later.
New at 11 on #Boston25
Last month a Westwood couple thought they lost their wedding rings forever…Until now.
Tonight, the @CT_STATE_POLICE trooper who didn’t give up on finding their rightful owners. pic.twitter.com/EprrDWgLqG
— Matthew Touchette (@matt_touchette) March 14, 2019
Through the snow and the cold, they went back to look, but the search was a failure.
“When they were gone, I felt like a part of me was missing,” said Kim.
A week went by, then two and three more weeks.
The couple reached out to Channel 3 for help in finding the rings.
“The idea of not having them and losing it for the rest of our lives is devastating,” Kim said.
They posted on Facebook offering rewards for anyone who may have found them.
“After the first week, I was like, they’re gone. No way we’re going to see them again,” said Peter.
But what it really took was State Police Sgt. Robert Derry getting involved.
The 29-year veteran solved the case in one day by combing through hours of surveillance footage from the rest stop.
“I continued watching the video and I couldn’t believe when I saw what appeared to be someone who picked them up,” Derry said.
He believes the rings were in the snow for three hours.
Derry tracked the plates to a person in Guilford who was happy to return the rings.
https://t.co/tV0UNkySG8 @CT_STATE_POLICE Great work Sgt Robert Derry. Remember what I said about social media when I met you on Saturday? I’m glad to be posting a story about you
— tina detelj (@tinadetelj) March 14, 2019
“The rings are so beautiful they thought it was costume jewelry. That’s what they told me on the phone. They didn’t believe they were real, so they held on to them, didn’t know what to do with them,” said Derry.
Derry got the rings, sent the Reggianninis a picture and they returned to Connecticut on Wednesday, capping off this tumultuous chapter in their story with a happy ending.
“It was more emotional than I thought it would be. You like to tell yourself, it’s just a thing, a material thing, but they have so much attached to them that it was a lot more than I thought it would be to lose them,” Kim said.
The person in Guilford who found the rings wanted to remain anonymous.
No charges will be filed, and Kim says she’ll never take off the rings to put on lotion again.
