A metal detector’s unlikely find on the shores of Huntington Beach helped an Olympic gold medalist locate his lost, commemorative ring Wednesday.
Leon Jones of Buena Park found the Olympic ring early this week during one of his usual outings with his metal detector, during which he scans for unique finds.
Jones, who records all of his treasure hunts with his GoPro and goes by the nickname Doctor Rings & Things, discovered that the ring is engraved with the name of an Olympian, John Landsteiner, who competed with the U.S. Curling team in 2018.
The curling team made history during the PyeongChang Winter Games when it earned the U.S.’s first ever curling gold medal, beating Sweden 10-7.
Jones contacted Landsteiner, who lives in Duluth, Minnesota, via FaceTime Wednesday to notify him of the good news.
“It means a lot to me,” said Landsteiner. “Tears were shed the night it disappeared.”
The Olympian told KTLA he had given up hope, and was looking into buying a replacement ring.
Jones said he wants to return the ring in person. He told Landsteiner that he wants the honor of being able to touch the hands of an Olympian who brought home a gold medal.
Landsteiner was recently in California for the ESPY Awards. During his trip, he visited Huntington Beach, where he lost the ring.
Now, he plans on using his travel miles to come back to California and retrieve the ring from Jones in person.
He also plans on bringing his gold medal.