Diver Recovers Lost Wedding Ring From American River, Reunites It With Heartbroken Husband

SACRAMENTO COUNTY (CBS13) — It's a story about a lost wedding ring and a curious diver who came to the rescue.

During a routine swim in the American River, expert diver Karl Bly caught an extra shiny glimpse of a gold ring. Just days later, he was able to track down the heartbroken husband desperate to find it.

Bly captured his discovery on GoPro video.

"I've been doing this since I was 10 years old," he said.

Bly does searches and rescues of lost stuff in the river all the time. He runs a Facebook page where he posts his discoveries called American River Lost & Found.

So when he came across something gold, shiny, and round, he knew it was special.

"I couldn't tell if it had been underwater for a day or a year," Bly said.

He also had no idea how hard the husband who lost this wedding ring had been searching. Bly posted the find on social media and Facebook users were able to track down Adam Papini.

Bly set up the ring return, not far from where he found it. The two strangers met in a moment of sweet relief and joy.

"You are my hero, thank you!" Papini said.

Papini remembers realizing his wedding ring slipped off during a casual swim. He happened to take cellphone video of the jump that washed it away.

"I immediately went to the store and got snorkel gear and I've been doing a search in the river bottom for the last week," he said. "For some reason, I still had faith that I would find it."

That faith came in the form of a diver determined to get this ring back to its happily ever after.

"I'll remember this moment for the rest of my life and I could eventually pass this down to my grandchildren and share this with them," Papini said.