StarBulletin.com

$55,000 ring and owner reunited


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POSTED: Sunday, August 09, 2009

What could have ended as a tragic loss ended happily, thanks to two good Samaritans who found a $55,000 diamond ring and turned it in to a jeweler, who helped locate the local grandmother who lost it.

“;It gives you faith in young people of Hawaii who would take it upon themselves ... to do the right thing,”; said KSSK radio personality Michael Perry.

The Perry and Price morning show honored yesterday 21-year-old JC Wo and 20-year-old Kristen Lum, the college students who found the ring.

Wo and Lum were jogging at Manoa District Park last month when they saw the ring in the parking lot.

“;We were just really shocked and surprised that we would find something like that on the ground in the middle of the road,”; Lum said.

The couple took the ring to the Wedding Ring Shop where owner Michael Han determined that the 3- to 4-carat diamond ring was worth $55,000.

“;I couldn't believe it was real,”; Wo said. “;It looked real, but I've never seen a diamond that big before.”;

Han called KSSK to help get the word out that the ring had been found and that the owner should call him.

“;In my (almost 30-year) career, this is the first time I have seen someone turn in a ring of this size,”; Han said. “;We've had a few small rings in the past, but this was an usually large-sized diamond.”;

About two weeks later, a woman told Han that she lost the ring while watching her granddaughter's softball game. Documents verified by Han confirmed that she was the ring's owner.

On Friday, the woman, who didn't want her identity revealed, was reunited with the ring and personally thanked Wo and Lum.

“;She was relieved, and you could see that it meant so much to her,”; said Wo's mother, Margie, “;There was just a 30-second pause where she was just crying. After that, the two kids knew that it was all worth it.”;

Han said the woman gave the couple a reward, but he wouldn't say what it was, saying that it “;wasn't the most important part.”;

“;It makes you think about your own mother or grandmother, and if it happened to them, you'd feel really bad,”; Wo said. “;Or, if it happened to you, you'd want someone to be honest and put forth a good effort to try and find the rightful owner.”;