“I was like ‘hey, has anyone seen it?’ And that got traction. And then I was showing Charmaine [Soljack], and she was like “Have you got the ring? We can put it on The Hits”.”
The post quickly gained traction as amused listeners reflected on the adorable gesture.
One comment stated “That’s the cutest and most horrifying thing” – echoing Houston’s sentiments perfectly.
She was hesitant to put a photo of the ring up because she was concerned “every man and his dog” would come out claiming it was theirs.
Luckily for her, the real owner spotted the social media post and contacted her immediately.
The mum, who did not want to be named, didn’t even realise her rings were missing.
“I went to look, and I said ‘yeah, I’m missing two rings’. I didn’t know they were missing to be honest, because I keep them in my jewellery box.”
She was gutted that her son had passed the rings on, which to her are priceless.
“I was saying [to her son] that ‘just because mum doesn’t wear them doesn’t mean she doesn’t want them’.”
One ring – a gold dolphin one – she’d had since she was 16 and another had sapphires in it and was her grandmother’s.
Although the sapphire ring had been found a new mystery ensued when it became clear that the dolphin ring was still missing – and Houston’s daughter did not have it.
Her sleuth skills were put to the test yet again, but she eventually discovered her cousin’s daughter had the other ring.
“I was hoping I could track down this dolphin ring so she could have both rings back because it must be stressful.”
She then handed on her cousin’s address to the ring-owner who was reunited with it later that night.
Houston said she was “absolutely relieved” that both rings had made their way back home.
“When I first noticed it, my heart dropped. I could only picture that is something special to someone.”
Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
