In 1973, Karen Autenrieth misplaced her wedding ring after a visit to her grandparents’ house in Chicago.
She recalled loading her children into the car and assumed that's when the ring slipped off her finger.
Autenrieth told The San Antonio Report: "It was very snowy, very cold, and I was helping them get into the car, … and it flew off my hand and landed in the snow."
She recalls digging in the snow, but not finding the ring, which she figured she'd never see again.
"I came back a few weeks later when the snow had melted, looked again, no luck,” she said., adding, "Tried a couple other times too, no luck.”
Fast-forward almost 50-years and the ring is back in her possession!
Sarah Batka now lives in the Chicago house once occupied by Autenrieth's grandparents. She found a random ring while digging in her garden, with the initials “R.A. to K.B.” and the date, “4-16-66," inscribed on the inside.
She took to social media to find the owner, and through a community Facebook page, found a historical society that researched the house's former occupants. From there, they found the granddaughter -- "Karen Berk Autenrieth."
Historian Carol Flynn used social media to track down Karen, and inquire if she ever lost a wedding ring. As you can imagine, Karen's response was "teary."
The ring is currently on its way to San Antonio and should arrive just in time for Valentine's Day.
Karen's husband Bob commented, "A ring is a commitment – it’s a circle. A circle is forever."
“It’s supposed to arrive [in the mail] any day now,” Autenrieth said. “We’re planning to open [the package] on Valentine’s Day together.”
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