Two linemen who spent days restoring power in the Tampa Bay area had the same unfortunate mishap: They lost their wedding rings.
Both were heartbroken, frustrated and hoping for some kind of mini miracle. One of the couples got lucky and now the other may have reason not to give up hope.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that Michael White works for Pike Electric in Indiana. When he left Florida with his crew, he unknowingly left his ring behind in Brooksville. It had fallen to the ground while he was working.
White's happy ending proves Facebook can make the difference in reuniting people with lost objects.
Another lineman, James Cook of Ocala, found White's ring on the ground when he was staging to do work in Hernando County. He quickly asked his wife to post about the missing ring on Facebook.
Soon, wife Patty Cook's post to an Ocala group was shared a few hundred times.
Her husband knew the trucks that had just left were from Indiana and Kentucky, so the couple at least had an idea where the ring's owner could be. Her plea to Facebook was simple:
"A man's wedding ring was found today at the staging area that my husband was working. Brooksville, Hernando County airport," she wrote. "Please share this so we can get the ring back to the owner."
Less than a day later, Patty Cook told the Ocala Facebook group the ring's owner had contacted her. She was in tears, shocked it was another lineman's ring.
"My husband and son are both lineman and this is so heartwarming," she wrote. She said that with all the negativity she often sees in her Facebook feed, "it is good to know there are still good people out there."
Meanwhile, Shawn Berry who works for Tampa Electric, also was reeling. He, too, lost his ring. He had put it in his hard hat while lathering up with some sunscreen gas station in Tampa.
His wife Miranda Berry took to social media with a picture of a ring similar to her husband's hoping someone might come across it and return it. So far, no luck.
"I'm very humbled by all the shares and comments," Miranda Berry said. "We've had people reach out positively and thank my husband for all his hard work this past week ... I can't believe how far this story has gone."
The Berrys still are hopeful someone may come across their ring. Posts about the missing ring had been shared more than 20,000 times by Friday.
