FORT MYERS, Fla. – Ashley Garner had given up on ever seeing her wedding ring again.
She lost it outside her Fort Myers home just days before Hurricane Ian crashed into the coast of southwest Florida last Wednesday. Despite enlisting her husband and three young children to help search around their yard and garage for two days, there was no sign of the ring.
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“I just accepted that it was gone,” Garner said. “It was only a thing. It’s replaceable, and I just let it go. We knew the hurricane was coming, so we just kind of said goodbye.”
The family stayed at their home during the storm and went outside to clean up as soon as it had passed.
“We’re about 10 minutes into cleaning, and my husband is cleaning up the brush and the trees right next to the garage door," Garner said. "There's a pile of brush and trees, and he moves over one pile, and the ring was right there.”
Garner said she couldn't believe they found the ring. Her neighborhood didn't experience the destructive flooding that many parts of the state did. But 150 mph winds left massive piles of trees and brush throughout the area.
“I just sat on the curb, and I prayed to God and thanked him for providing and giving us a sign that there’s hope for the community,” Garner said.
Garner posted about finding the ring on Facebook earlier this week.