About two weeks ago, a young couple established a GoFundMe page in a desperate attempt to piece their lives back together after the truck and trailer carrying all their belongings were stolen from a hotel parking lot near Denver.
Only a few days earlier, Matthew and Lindsey Fuller, along with their 18-month-old toddler, had opened a new chapter in the lives. The couple made the bold decision to move from Utah to Kansas to pursue some new opportunities.
But, the excitement of a new beginning in Wichita turned into a heart-wrenching nightmare when a Denver-area fire investigator told them that their stolen trailer had been located, but was reduced to ashes. The investigator had been aware of the couple's plight via local reporting and social media.
"Finding out that it had all been burned. That was hard," Lindsey told Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL-TV.
But despite the horrific news, Lindsey still held onto a glimmer of hope.
"Maybe my rings hadn't melted," she said. "Maybe some of the books didn't get burned."
When the couple arrived at the impound station, they saw their trailer burned beyond recognition. A pile of charred rubble.
"Just ash, basically," Matthew said.
Undaunted, the couple dove into the mess to see what they could salvage.
Within four minutes, Lindsey's engagement ring emerged from the ashes, a little scorched, but otherwise intact.
"We had been praying we would find it, and finding it within four minutes of getting there, it just felt like a miracle," Lindsey said. "There really aren't words for the relief we felt finding that."
The Fullers call it the "miracle ring" because this was not the first time the ring, or its valuable center stone, had been lost. Previously, the oval-shaped diamond had fallen out at a beach, but was recovered.
"We thought even if we find nothing else, this ring is so precious to us," Lindsey added.
Despite the tragedy, the ring symbolizes the perseverance that will carry this young family into the future.
"We're going to try to keep [it] by our side as long as we live," Matthew said. "Although we lost everything, we have the thing that really started our relationship still with us."
The family's recovery efforts got off to a great start. A GoFundMe goal of $30,000 already has been surpassed by nearly $3,000. The Fullers told KSL-TV that they are extremely grateful to friends, neighbors and complete strangers who have helped them in their moment of total loss.
You can see KSL-TV's full report here.
Credits: Screen grabs via www.ksl.com.