A US woman who had been looking for her diamond engagement ring for 21 years has found it – in a toilet.
Shaina Day, 43, from Lakeland, Florida, was reunited with the ring her husband Nick proposed to her with when his parents had their toilet replaced as part of some home improvements.
During the renovation last month, a shocked plumber found it lodged inside the toilet bowl, WFLA-TV reported.
Romantic Nick proposed with the ring over two decades ago, but the piece of jewellery went missing before their wedding day.
“She came to me one day and said, ‘I think I lost my ring,’” Nick told the station.
“She said, ‘It was on the counter. Now it’s gone, and I think I may have flushed it down the toilet on accident.”
The couple tried their hardest to find the ring, even going so far as to look through the home’s septic tank system in the hopes of uncovering it.
“I climbed down into the septic tank so we could pump it, every bit of it, through a strainer to try to find it,” Shaina said.
“No luck.”
The pair ended up replacing the engagement ring, but they had always wondered what happened to it.
Shaina and Nick said they may have never actually found the sentimental piece of jewellery if it wasn’t for Nick’s parents upgrading the toilet during a bathroom remodel.
His mum Renee recalled the moment the plumber uncovered the ring after all these years.
“He said, ‘Do you think it’s Shaina’s ring?’” she said.
“I looked at it again, and I went, ‘Oh my God, yes!’”
After cleaning the ring thoroughly, Nick’s parents surprised them with the gift-wrapped ring on Christmas night.
The delighted husband said they both “knew exactly what it was” as soon as the present was opened.
“It was kind of an ugly cry. I sat there and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is my ring. This is my ring,’” Shaina said.
“I’m wiping my eyes and mascara is going everywhere.”
The couple said they are considering incorporating the diamond into a new piece or passing it down to their grandkids as an heirloom with an amazing backstory.
And after finding the precious ring, the couple said they have learnt an important life lesson.
“Check your toilets when you lose things,” Nick joked.