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Girl Stumbles Upon Wedding Ring, Returns To Bride

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Is there any one thing that's more symbolic than a wedding ring? An even better question is there any worse remorse you feel than when you realize that ring is nowhere to be found?

A Burnsville woman was in that boat just days ago, but with the help of a 9-year-old and a Craigslist posting, she now has her ring back.

Chrissy Plouta had barely taken the ring off her finger for 10 years. Thanks to a little bit of luck and a whole lot of "Minnesota Nice," she now has the story of a happy reunion to share.

"I know we were playing football, and the sunscreen and the water, and the sand ... I went to the bathroom, came out of the bathroom, washed my hands and noticed that my wedding ring was missing," Chrissy said.

After a tearful search in acres of sand for hours, Chrissy left the beach. It dawned on her that maybe she should ask the world for help on the Internet.

Later that day, 9-year-old Ella Foley was playing in the same sand with her siblings.

"I jumped over this crack in the sand from an anchor a couple of inches away, and I saw a ring dug in the sand," Ella said.

Ella ran to deliver the ring to her mom, Lori Foley.

"She said that's probably a wedding ring, and someone's going to be mad, and someone's going to be sad," Ella said.

Knowing there was somewhere a mad groom and a sad bride, Ella took it upon herself to find the owner.

"I thought that they must be really sad, because that is very special to someone," Ella said.

Days later, Foley's family stumbled upon Chrissy's posting. Lori then sent an e-mail to Chrissy asking her to please call regarding this issue.

"The lady started out by just saying, 'Can you describe your ring in detail?" Chrissy said.

After a perfect description, Lori realized she'd found Chrissy's ring.

"Her voice was really high and she was just so excited," said Ella.

"One in a million, you know, you get this ring returned and I found the one in a million," Chrissy said.

The families just recently met up for a two-hour dinner. Chrissy said not only did they find her ring but new best friends. In fact, Chrissy's daughter is the same age as Ella.

During their meeting, as a gesture of their appreciation, Chrissy gave Ella a bouquet of flowers, a generous donation for back-to-school clothes and tickets to the Twins/Yankees game.

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