An Upper West Side woman thought her engagement ring was gone for good after she lost it in the park, but a good Samaritan proved her wrong when she returned it two days later.
Jill Fink, a mother of 2-year-old twins, said she was in the park late last month when she took off her ring so that she could put suncreen on her daughter. She put the toddler into a swing and dropped her ring into the stroller.
Fink said she forgot to put the ring back on until she was on her way to work two days later.
"I thought I left it in our apartment, so I ran back upstairs," she said.
Then she had a flashback to the moment she took off her ring in the park: "I called my husband and burst into tears."
Unbeknownst to Fink, another mom had found the ring on the ground — and she actually left a note at the park with her phone number.
"If that had been my ring, I would have gone out of my head," said Michelle LaPlante, an attorney who went the extra mile to reunite ring with owner.
LaPlante put up fliers in the neighborhood and took out online ads, including a lost-and-found item on Craigslist. After waiting two days and screening calls from people responding to the ads, she decided to leave the ring with the local police precinct.
But LaPlante never had to make that trip.
A receptionist in the office where Fink works heard her story, and decided to visit Craigslist.
Danielle Aprea navigated to the lost and found section, and clicked on "engagement rings" — and there was LaPlante's listing for the ring.
Aprea immediately ran to find Fink.
"She was so excited," said Aprea.
The rest is history: Fink emailed LaPlante, and the two spoke on the phone to arrange for Fink to pick up her ring. Fink was able to get her ring back, and she presented LaPlante with a gift card for an evening out.
"I'm still in shock," said Fink as she gushed with gratitude about the kind stranger she now calls a friend.