Fla. Woman's Lost Wedding Ring Found in Brush Pile After Hurricane Ian: 'A Sign That There's Hope'
Ashley Garner
When Ashley Garner misplaced her wedding ring days before Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida, she thought she had lost it for good.
"I just accepted that it was gone," the Fort Myers resident told the Associated Press. "It was only a thing. It's replaceable, and I just let it go. We knew the hurricane was coming, so we just kind of said goodbye."
But the mother of three was shocked to find the ring, nestled amid tree branches and other debris, days after the storm hit the area where she lives.
"We're about 10 minutes into cleaning, and my husband is cleaning up the brush and the trees right next to the garage door," Garner told the outlet. "There's a pile of brush and trees, and he moves over one pile, and the ring was right there."
Ashley Garner
She continued, "I just sat on the curb, and I prayed to God and thanked him for providing and giving us a sign that there's hope for the community."
The discovery of her lost diamond ring left the sales director speechless, she said in a Facebook post.
Garner and her family finally had power restored to their neighborhood on Saturday, she also shared on Facebook.
More than 100 people were reported dead following Hurricane Ian, which made its second U.S. landfall in South Carolina on Sept. 1.
The storm, which devastated southwest Florida, may have caused as much as $74 billion in insured losses, according to data released last week from modeling firm RMS, per Axios.
