Shine OnHusband accidentally sells wife’s $23,000 wedding ring for $10
California woman Racquel Cloutier, 31, was in for a big surprise when she returned from the hospital on June 1 after giving birth to her fifth child.
She discovered that her husband, Eric Cloutier, accidentally sold an old watch box for $10 --- but not just any old box. It had her $23,000 wedding ring in it, hidden underneath the main compartment.
"He didn't know that before I went to the hospital, I put my ring in that box," she tells ABC News. "I wanted the ring to be in a safe place and out of reach of my two-year-old twins."
The ring was sold at a community garage sale, which was put on for charity in San Joaquin Hills, Calif. While Racquel was in hospital recovering, Eric thought it would be a good idea to get rid of some stuff in house.
“I saw this big box in my closet. It had been there for over a year, probably worth about $120, $130 dollars," Eric explains.
Also see: Son's quest to find late mother's wedding ring
Because he didn't need the watch box nor use it, he thought it would be an ideal item to get rid of. And after doing a quick look inside the box, he sold it to an unsuspecting woman for $1o.
“It means something to [my wife]. I hope the lady can bring it back. I’ll give her a reward for it. Not a $22,000 reward, but I’ll give her a reward,” says Eric.
“It symbolizes love, and it’s a symbol of our relationship. I feel naked. Every time I look down at my finger…” Racquel cries as she talks with CBS. “I don’t know why I keep crying about it. I just want my ring back.”
"Honestly, this has so much sentimental value to me -- it's my wedding ring," Racquel, who believes the woman may not be aware of the ring hidden in the box, tells ABC.
News of the Cloutier's lost wedding ring comes just days after a Chicago woman had her wedding ring mailed back to her after she accidentally shipped it to Arkansas.
Also see: Touching gift for bride who lost everything
Yes folks, there are good people in this world.
Barb Kasang, who works in the shipping department at an auto manufacture in Chicago, unknowingly mailed her wedding ring with a shipment to Arkansas. Lucky for her, the salesman Steve Smith who received it, mailed it back immediately realizing that whoever lost it would be devastated.
And in another remarkable returned wedding ring story, a Boston woman was reunited with her lost wedding ring in April 2012 after losing it two years prior. Boston city employees found the ring in a sewer drain and went on a hunt to find the rightful owner.
What do you think the chances are the Cloutier's will get their ring back? Will the news publicity help?
