Man's Lost Ring Found In Ocean City Days Before 9-Year Wedding Anniversary

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (CBS)—A Deptford man's wedding anniversary is even more meaningful this year after his missing wedding ring is found in Ocean City by a woman and her son.

Mickey Walsh was vacationing in Ocean City near the 55th Street beach with his family one year ago on Aug. 13, 2016 when a wave knocked the symbolism of his marriage right off his finger.

"I was playing in the waves and I noticed it was off my hand," Walsh tells CBS Philly. "I always take it off when I go into the ocean, for whatever reason I didn't do it that time. I pretty much thought it was a lost cause."

It took a year for the ocean's current to carry the ring north.

On Aug. 17, 2017,  11-year-old Daniel Barr spotted the ring on the beach between 7th and 8th Street.

The discovery spawned an all-out search for the owner.

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"He even walked up and down asking if anyone lost a ring," said Kristen Bar, who helped her son in the search.

The pair started a Facebook post saying: "My son found this men's wedding band today 8/17/17. Between 7th & 8th street beach in OCNJ. No inscription inside or outside. Please help us find the owner. Every share helps. Thank you!"

Days after the post made the rounds on Facebook, Mickey's wife spotted the post and immediately contacted her husband.

"I was at work and my wife texted me, 'Hey I think someone found your ring,'" Walsh recounted.

"There's no way that's my ring though," Walsh said he told his wife.

Kristen says she took the ring to a jeweler in Ocean City where they examined its size, material and worth.

"We gave her all the info that we could remember about the ring," said Mickey.

And sure enough it was a match.

"His wife actually saw the Facebook post from a friend's post. Saw it and immediately contacted me through Facebook. She sent me photos and sure enough, they were a match. She even knew the correct ring size and all," Kristen tells CBS Philly.

On Monday night, Kristen and her son met Mickey near Lincoln Financial Field to return the ring.

"Right away they just seemed like great ppl… willing to go through all that trouble," said Walsh.

"I'm extremely proud of my son for going above and beyond to find the owner. It felt really nice to be able to return something that has so much sentimental value to the owner," said Kristen.

Kristen says her son is also proud of himself.

"I honestly didn't think I would be able to find them this fast nor did I think we would get over 2.3 shares in less than three days. I was thinking maybe 100? My dad always says... 'If you can correct a wrong or help someone in anyway. [Then] that's what you should always do. Be the person who does right. No matter how hard it may be. Always do the right thing.' So that's what I did," Daniel said in an interview with his mom on Facebook.

The discovery of the ring couldn't have come at a more perfect time.

Mickey say he's celebrating his 9-year wedding anniversary today, Aug 22 and he's just thankful for the Kristen and Daniel Barr.

"This is just a testament to the kid and the family that they have," he said.