Long Island Man Is On Quest To Find Owner Of Ring Left On Beach

NORTH BABYLON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- If you thought finding a needle in a haystack was hard, try finding an engagement ring buried on a beach.

As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, that was exactly what happened at Robert Moses Park Field 5 this past summer, and the a search has been launched to find the owner.

Some people scour the beach with beeping metal detectors, hoping to find glitter and gold left behind. But John Farrelly of North Babylon wasn't on the lookout for anything when he found a nearly-buried treasure in August.

"The stone is gorgeous," Farrelly said. "The sparkle that comes off of it in the sunshine is spectacular."

Tucked into the white shore, he found the gold engagement ring half-buried. A few more grains of sand and it could have been lost forever.

"I just saw that little sparkle, and I brushed around the sand, and there it was," Farrelly said.

It was a late August day at Robert Moses Park Field 5. Farrelly, a retired father of five, was packing up and leaving when he made the improbable find.

He picked up the ring and figured it was a fake. He also made a quick call to parks police, who he said told him they had no reports of a lost engagement ring.

But he then brought the ring to a jeweler, and discovered its gold and gems were not only real, but had special attributes that only its rightful owner could know.

Farrelly then went on a quest to get the precious possession into the right hands. His Facebook post about the ring has been shared nearly 50,000 times.

"I couldn't see anything different than trying to return it to the rightful owner," he said.

But his honesty is what some say is the rare find here.

"In this day in age, sometimes … someone people want it and to pawn it for money," one person said.

"It's significant for whoever lost it," another said. "So I'm assuming they're probably going crazy looking for it."

Farrelly has had an avalanche of online friend requests from women -- not looking for a ring, but rather, a valuable man.

Parks police said they have reports of missing rings dating back years. Farrelly said he will re-connect with police to see if any match the ring he found.

If you believe the ring is yours, let Farrelly know by clicking here and sending him a private message on his Facebook page.

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