A missing $1,000 wedding ring was discovered by a snorkeler who saw it hanging from a fish’s neck.
Suzie Quintal and her husband Nathan Reeves, who live on the Gold Coast, traveled to Norfolk Island, 1,600 kilometers northeast of Sydney, to spend Christmas with family.
As Ms. Reeves went swimming in Emily Bay, he suddenly realized his ring had come off.
The missing ring was thought to be lost forever until it was discovered this week wrapped around the body of a mullet fish by local snorkeler Susan Prior.
She mentioned seeing on a local Facebook page about a couple who miraculously found themselves after losing their wedding band earlier this year.
Ms. Prior described seeing the trapped fish in the ring as “gut-wrenching” in an interview with us Australia.
She claimed to have seen other fish caught in plastic rings, but seeing one dragged down by metal terrified her.
The only way to get the metal out, according to the diver, was to gently remove the fish after netting it.
So far, the fish appears to be healthy, but the ring will cut into it as it grows.
Ms. Quintal claimed her husband searched everywhere in vain for the missing jewelry.
“He tried to look for it and then broke the news to me, and I was not happy,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
I always tell him to take it off before going swimming. He snapped the day before our second wedding anniversary.
She claimed that after they failed to locate the ring on their own, island residents rushed to help, some armed with metal detectors.
“Right now, people are looking for nets, and some have scuba equipment.” The crew in the glass-bottom boats will take a look because Norfolk is very good at it.
Five months later, after learning that Ms Prior had discovered the ring, she claimed that she had simply “spun out.”
I just couldn’t accept it. My friends who live on the island are quite certain that they will find it.
Prior has yet to capture the fish and remove the ring. Susan Prior is the photographer.
Prior said she sees fish caught in plastic rings from discarded juice and milk bottles all the time, but this was the first time she saw one wearing such an expensive circlet.
“Most of the rings that get caught by these fish are the plastic ones that go around the tops of juice and other liquids that come in plastic bottles,” she wrote on NorfolkIslandReef.com.au, a site she has launched to document the marine life in the region and call attention to the importance of keeping the ocean clean.
The story is quickly travelling around the world, but “it is a shame there isn’t more fuss when these rings are plastic,” Prior wrote on the website. “Sadly, those of us who swim regularly see this far too often.”
My husband is not concerned because he doesn’t get the fuss. Simply put, I’m concerned for the poor fish.
Since Ms. Quintal and her husband were unable to travel back to Norfolk Island, they are now impatiently awaiting word on the status of their engagement ring.
