Yana Glass' son accidentally flushed her engagement ring down the toilet a year ago, but she now gets it back thanks to a vigilant Chino Hills Public Works staff.
In southern California, a public works crew performing sewer maintenance discovered an engagement ring a few days ago that belonged to John and Yana Glass.
The couple said that in March 2022, while they were in bed, their 5-year-old son flushed the toilet at their Chino Hills home, which was unusual for the kid.
"I heard him flush the toilet, and I turned to her and said, 'Well, that's odd. He never flushes the toilet, you know, he's 5 years old," said John. "I thought that was so weird."
The incident was revealed hours later after the child admitted to his wrongdoing.
"It was in the bathroom; it was shiny; he wanted to look at it, dropped it, didn't want to tell us, and thought the best thing to do with this was flush it down and hide the crime," Yana told ABC News.
The couple made an immediate attempt to reclaim the engagement ring.
"My initial reaction was that I went to the toilet, turned off the water, basically took the toilet off the flange, and started looking, hoping maybe it got caught somewhere," said John.
The couple hired a plumber's camera in an attempt to find the ring in the pipe, but were unsuccessful.
14 months later, workers for Chino Hills Public Works claimed to be performing neighbourhood sewage maintenance when the ring was discovered more than 400 feet from the Glass family's residence.
"He's hydro-jetting, and I am with a screen looking at the debris coming, and I told him, 'Chris! Chris! Stop! Stop the water because I think the ring is there," Chino Hills Public Works employee Tony Ochoa said.
"I am so, so grateful to the guys for remembering us for our dedication, hard work, and kindness because if it wasn't for them, we would not have it," Yana Glass said.