A ring found in the bottom of the ocean is giving a husband a fascinating story to share with his wife. Jay Bradford, from New Jersey, lost his wedding ring while fishing in Long Branch and by some miracle, it was discovered by salvage diver Mark Thompson several days later.
Imagine texting your spouse to tell them that your very expensive and precious wedding ring fell into the ocean, and it will never be found – a New Jersey man by the name of Jay Bradford had to send out that message and what happened next is nothing short of a miracle.
Last week, Mr. Bradford, a fisherman, who was hoping for some big catches in the water off Long Branch, ended up losing his ring. While pulling an anchor, the unthinkable occurred, Bradford lost his black platinum wedding band and immediately picked up the phone to text his wife, Meagan Bradford, 29, to share the news. Meagan said:
“He texted me and said his day was going wrong. I said `don’t worry you will find the fish. He texted me back, `it’s not the fishing, I lost my ring in the water.’ I nearly threw up.”
The New Jersey man would not give up on his ring and five days later he returned to the area with boat captain Nick Barsa along with salvage diver Mark Thompson. While thrilled to have the exact GPS coordinates of the spot where the ring was lost, he knew that there were 35-mile-per-hour winds and a big southeast swell – translation, it would be tough to find it. Barsa said:
“People thought I was crazy to try and go back for it.The odds are against finding it. It’s a big ocean out there.”
Thompson, who said he has been able to recover clients’ lost cell phones and watches in the ocean in the past, dove in, and searched rock ledges and sifted through thousands of mussels. Thompson claimed he found the ring resting on a rock in less than 10 minutes. Meagan Bradford stated:
“When they found it I was ecstatic, I was amazed. I nicknamed Nick “Capt. St. Nicholas,” for this time of year because these two did perform a Christmas miracle for us to have that ring back.”
Jay Bradford took the wise decision to wear a cheap metal ring the next time he goes fishing, and the world can assume that his wife is happy with the move. The man has revealed that he will tattoo the GPS coordinates on his ring finger.
