Diamond Ring Found at Wastewater Plant Returned to Owner After Nearly 13 Years

A diamond ring found at a Minneapolis area wastewater treatment plant has been returned to its owner after more than a decade.

The ring was among a few items that were found at the plant in March, local news outlet KSMP reported.

Mary Strand said she accidentally dropped her ring into the toilet and watched it go down as the toilet flushed.

Strand said, “I never, ever, ever thought I would ever see this again.”

Ironically, she and her husband own a drain-cleaning business.  She called him as soon as she flushed the ring.

“We put our camera down the line,” David Strand said.  “We ran 200 feet from the house out and didn’t see anything.  That was it.  We wrote it off.”

But that wasn’t the end.

The ring was discovered by a maintenance worker in a piece of equipment at the plant.

The Metropolitan Council publicized the ring in hopes of finding the owner.

Hundreds of people responded and shared photos and descriptions of rings lost down the drain.

Officials said only one photo stood out. Two jewelers compared the ring with the photo, and both said it was a likely match.

They gave it back to Strand on Wednesday and posted a video on Facebook of her recognizing her ring.

"This is my ring," Strand said. "Nice to see it again."

She later joked, “What should we flush down next?”

A chisel and a clamp were also found at the plant.  No one has come forward to claim them.