A woman who lost her diamond ring in the bathroom of a Hawaiian Hotel — and ended up with two — said she is determined to locate the rightful owners of the second ring because "their love story doesn’t belong to me.”
"If you think this is your ring, don't lose hope," Paula Ribeiro told the viewers of Hawaii News Now. "It's not lost anymore because I found it."
The strange series of events took place during Ribeiro's romantic Labor Day weekend getaway with her husband, David.
The couple booked a Polynesian-style bungalow at the Hotel Molokai, an exotic venue billed as a "genuine hideaway from all things mainstream." Molokai, which is 35 minutes from Honolulu by plane, is adjacent to Hawaii’s only barrier reef and is said to be the birthplace of the hula.
After checking in, Ribeiro had taken off her own solitaire engagement ring to wash her face, but accidentally bumped it into the gap between the sink and the wall.
Unable to reach the ring, Ribeiro panicked at first, but the hotel staff told her not to worry.
Paula and David went on a hike, and when they came back later that afternoon, a pretty floral-motif diamond cluster ring was on the sink.
“Oh my God, this is not my ring," Ribeiro remembered saying. "Oh my God, what’s going on?”
Clearly, this was not the first time the void behind the sink had consumed a guest's ring.
The hotel staff returned to the room and managed to retrieve Ribeiro's ring, as well.
“Next thing you know, mine was in the same hole," she said. "So come to find out, now I have two rings!”
The hotel's manager told Ribeiro that nobody had reported a diamond ring missing during the 14 years he's been with the hotel, so the ring may have been lost at an earlier date. The hotel has been booking bungalows for more than 50 years.
Robeiro took the mystery ring to a local jeweler, who confirmed the diamonds were real.
She also joked that her hand looks so much better with it on.
Still, she acknowledged that the ring needs to be returned to its rightful owner.
"I feel so bad for the person who lost it," she said. “Two people fell in love sometime in their life and they made a promise to each other with that ring. Their love story doesn’t belong to me.”
In order to help identify the owner, the Hawaii News Now team purposely left out critical details from their story. These included the particular bungalow where the ring was found, the ring size and any inscription that may have been on the band. Viewers were encouraged to email their inquiries to news@hawaiinewsnow.com.
Credits: Screen captures via hawaiinewsnow.com.