Dive team finds woman's missing diamond ring at bottom of Charles River
CAMBRIDGE – A Cambridge Fire Department dive team was able to quickly find a distraught woman's missing diamond ring at the bottom of the Charles River.
"I did not think we were ever going to see it again," said owner Lynn Andrews. She had taken her rings off to put on sunscreen and tucked the rings into the pocket of her husband's shirt. When he took his shirt off, the rings bounced out of the pocket.
"I said a bad word, and then I took a deep breath, and then I said 'Everything's going to be fine,'" said her husband, Ninos Andrews.
The dive team was working a detail at the Charlesgate yacht club on Sunday.
Lynn Andrews told firefighters she dropped her ring overboard, though she had a good idea where the ring fell. The divers found the area was clear of hazards, so they decided they would attempt to recover the ring.
Within five minutes, the divers were able to locate the ring and bring it to its owner, who was described as "very relieved and excited."
"We were happy to help. It's not something we normally do. Things in the river are usually pretty hard to find, so didn't really have a lot of confidence in finding it. But we figured we would at least give it a shot," Cambridge firefighter Jeremy Marrache, who came to the surface after finding the ring, said.
Marrache said the ring was on its side, so when his shined a flashlight at the bottom of the river, the light reflected off the diamond.
"We have open communications via our mask. So when I said I found it, the person attending us relayed that message, so I could hear everybody cheering," he said.
Because the recovery happened while firefighters were already on scene working a detail, they said there was no waste of resources and it served as a perfect opportunity to train with new equipment.
"This is an amazing example of using our training for public service and a terrific opportunity for the Dive and Marine Unit members to practice working together," Cambridge Fire Lt. Stephen Capuccio said. "All the members on the detail showed great professionalism in assessing, making a plan, and executing the operation."
"They all had wives and they all knew how important this was and how sentimental it was to us," Lynn said.