My Clearwater
Lost Wedding Ring is Found in Sands of Clearwater Beach
58 MyClearwater
Imke and Tobias
Borawski were
crushed when
Tobias lost his
wedding ring on a visit to Clearwater Beach
the day after Thanksgiving. They didn’t think
they would ever see it again.
The next day, Imke Borawski reached out to the
Clearwater Police Department with an email asking if
anyone had turned in a lost ring. That email was forwarded
on to officers who work the beach in case it was turned in.
The ring wasn’t found that weekend, but on the following
Monday, police service technician Val Hornbeck mentioned a
local group of metal detector enthusiasts that works to reunite
people with their lost jewelry and other possessions.
“We thought the ring would never be found,” said Imke
Borawski, who lives in Pinellas County along with her husband
and family. “We were so sad, we did not know what to do.”
She didn’t know that the Suncoast Research and Recovery Club,
a member of an international group called The Ring Finders, is
made up of about 100 people from the Tampa Bay area who
volunteer their services to people such as the Borawskis. In
the last nine years, they’ve used metal detectors to return 607
items to their owners, mostly rings.
“If it’s there, we are going to find it,” said Howard
Metts, president of the local club.
Six days after the ring went missing, Metts and
two other club members – Ed Osmar and
Bill Gallant – met Imke Borawski on
the stretch of north Clearwater
Beach where the ring had
been lost. One
complicating factor is
they weren’t sure if it was lost
in the water or on the sand.
The three treasure hunters asked her to
show them exactly where she and her family
had been for their day at the beach. The trio then
methodically and painstakingly searched the sand
and water looking for it. One of the men even traced all
the way back to their parking spot.
After about 45 minutes, Gallant found the ring in the sand
about 80 feet from the water.
“I was overwhelmed. I started to cry, and I could not find the
words for it,” Imke Borawski said. “It’s priceless. The emotional
value of this ring is priceless.”
The ring finders more than enjoyed their role in the happy
conclusion to the ring caper.
“If you saw the expression on her face, it was priceless,” Metts
said.
The Borawskis said they will be forever indebted to the three
for finding the ring. After all, it’s been with them the last 17
years of marriage.
“These three people shared their time with us, and
they didn’t even know us. It was so amazing,” Imke
Borawski said. “It was our perfect Christmas story.
I think we will smile about this for the rest of
our lives.”