Long Island Man Seeks Rightful Owner Of Wedding Ring Found In Massapequa Park

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island man's hobby may prove to be golden. He was out with his metal detector and came across a wedding ring.

As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, Steve Auletta is trying to track down the ring's owner.

Auletta, a retired bus driver, loves nothing more than heading out each day with his trusty metal detector to search for hidden treasure. It's helped him find colonial era cannon balls, century old coins, nails, and buttons.

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It was at a Massapequa park, days before Christmas, that he came across his latest find. It's something precious that he's certain the owner would want back.

"Here's the ring I found. I found it six inches deep into the sand. it was right about here under the volley ball net, and it's a beautiful man's wedding band," he said.

Auletta knew he'd found something when the alarm on his metal detector started buzzing. he raced home for a closer look at the ring.

"It has an inscription on the inside that reads, 'remember, I love you forever,' with a date, but that date I won't reveal until someone can identify the ring," he said.

Auletta has posted the golden find online and hopes that someone will contact him soon. He recalls once finding a wedding ring for a couple that had lost both as a result of a spat.

"I've had it where a husband and wife were arguing and she threw both rings away. She found one and I found the other," he said.

For now Auletta is keeping the ring safely stored, hoping to return it to a relieved owner.

"It's just a great feeling that you return something to someone that means something to them. It's sentimental," he said.

It's an emotional reward Auletta said he is eagerly looking forward to, even as he continues to seek out more hidden treasures every day.