Hurricane Milton tore across central Florida last week, flooding roadways, damaging property, spawning tornadoes and forcing mandatory evacuations from coast to coast.
Laura and Basil Yorio left their Palm Coast home just before the hurricane made landfall as a Category 3 storm last Wednesday, and didn't know what to expect when they were allowed to return the next day to assess the damage.
As Laura and her dog entered the backyard, the homeowner noticed something glinting in the grass.
“I looked down and saw a silver ring and thought it was like a key ring,” she told Fox 35 Orlando. "And it was just sitting there. It was a little bit embedded in the dirt."
On closer inspection, she realized this was no key ring. It was her husband's gold wedding band — a ring that went missing nearly a decade ago.
Basil remembered losing the beloved keepsake during a backyard construction project nine years ago.
"It just disappeared," he said.
Laura explained that the whereabouts of the wedding band continued to be a mystery despite being right underfoot.
"We've been here [in the backyard] a thousand times over the last nine years," she said. "I have a landscaper who has come by once a week, every week for nine years, and nothing."
But all that changed after Milton dumped nearly six inches of rain on already-saturated ground in this city of 100,000, which lies on Florida's east coast, about halfway between Jacksonville and Orlando.
It's well known that metal detectorists and sea-bound treasure hunters love to pursue their passions right after a major weather event. Heavy rain, battering winds and violent waves can erode soil and sand, revealing items that have been lost for decades, or even centuries.
Milton's relentless downpour effectively washed away enough soil to expose Basil's wedding band.
"We are very mindful that a lot people are going through like terrible, terrible things, and I feel almost a little guilty feeling happy about all this, but it was something good," Laura said. "After a rough couple of days, it was a really happy ending."
Credits: Screen captures via FOX 35 Orlando.