Solving this New York City mystery would be the best holiday gift of all.
Laura Albanese is searching for the owner of a diamond ring she found in the back of a Brooklyn bus more than a decade ago.
“I tried a few message boards at the time,” said Albanese, a special writer for sports at Newsday. “But I never heard back.”
She’s hoping social media, which has taken off since she first discovered the delicate bauble, will help her track down the owner. Albanese was a student at Brooklyn College when she spotted the ring on the floor of a bus in 2006 or 2007.
I found this engagement ring on a Brooklyn bus about 10 years ago and despite various attempts, I still haven’t found the owner. Think it was the B11 or B6. It’s engraved. I just realized that if anyone can find the owner, Twitter can. Here she is: pic.twitter.com/g7cZ1d1bF5
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) December 11, 2018
“I was heading home on either the B6 or B11,” she recalled. “The bus was fairly empty and I was sitting toward the back. I saw a glint of something. I thought it was aluminum foil.”
She asked fellow passengers if they had lost something, but was sparse with the details in an effort to weed out opportunists. No one had. Albanese brought the ring to her Brooklyn home and took a closer look. She discovered the 18-karat gold stamp and a personalized engraving inside the band. Further examination showed the cluster of diamonds on top appeared real as well. When the message boards failed to reveal any leads, Albanese put the ring in her jewelry box for safekeeping.
A recent story about a woman who reclaimed an engagement ring flushed down the toilet reminded her of the lost ring sitting in her jewelry box.
“I saw that story on my Twitter moments and I realized I finally have the means to get the word out there,” Albanese said.
She is not publicly revealing the inscription in the hopes it will help her track down the rightful owner.
Newsday and amNewYork are both owned by Newsday Media Group.
Does this ring look familiar? Have an anonymous tip?
Contact reporter Laura Albanese on Twitter at @AlbaneseLaura or via email at laura.albanese@newsday.com.
