An engagement ring was found over a year after it had been accidentally flushed down a toilet

• A little boy accidentally flushed his mom's engagement ring down a toilet in March 2022.
• Public works crews attempted to get the ring back at the time, but they couldn't find it.

A couple was reunited with an engagement ring they thought they would never see again.

In March 2022, a resident of Chino Hills, California, contacted the city's public works department, according to a press release from the city.

He reported that his fiancée's engagement ring was missing, telling the city his future stepson had accidentally flushed it down the toilet.

The press release went on to say that the unnamed resident initially tried to retrieve the ring himself, even going as far as to rent a sewer inspection camera to try to find it. He told the city that although he was able to spot the ring with the camera, he believed the camera pushed the ring farther down the drain.

City staff then tried to retrieve the ring, and according to the press release, they thought it would be relatively easy to find because the couple lived on a cul-de-sac. Despite multiple attempts to find it, including flushing the resident's sewer system more than once, city staff couldn't locate the ring at the time.

But while doing routine maintenance in the area in May 2023, members of the city's sanitation staff saw a ring and grabbed it.

Staff who worked with the resident in 2022 contacted him, and after confirming information about the ring, they sanitized it and returned it to him. The city shared a photo of staff with the resident when they returned the ring to him on its Instagram on Thursday.

"The City's sanitation crew was excited to be able to return the ring to the resident and see the resident's expression of happiness to have it back," the city said in its press release. "Way to go Public Works crew!"