Last week students dining in Marillac Cafeteria may have noticed fliers posted up asking for assistance in locating a lost anniversary ring. The Tiffany ring, valued at $5,000, went missing on Oct. 20 when Donna Badamo, who works in the Tobin College of Business, was out running errands.
Student Crystal Hu found the ring while walking to class and held on to it in hopes of finding the owner.
“I didn’t want to turn it in to Public Safety,” Hu said. “I did not want just anyone to take it.”
“[When I saw the Tiffany & Co. inscription] I thought ‘this must have meant something to someone,” Hu added. “I was glad to give [the ring] back.”
According to Badamo, Hu also suggested that she have the ring sized, which is something Badamo is looking into doing in hopes of avoiding another such incident.
Badamo said she was “frantic” when she discovered her ring was missing. She had been out running errands around campus all day and did not notice that the valuable piece of jewelry was missing until 4 p.m. that day.
“I was more frantic and upset because my husband gave [the ring] to me for our 25th anniversary,” Badamo said.
The ring, she said, had been a surprise gift from her husband on their anniversary and held very special meaning.
Badamo told her co-workers of the missing ring and they advised her to retrace her steps in hopes of finding the lost item. She took their advice and went back through her day’s trek, from her office in Bent
Badamo’s final stop was Marillac Cafeteria. She went through the cafeteria and then decided to tell the supervisor about her missing ring, in case anyone was to turn it in to him. He suggested that Badamo make fliers to draw attention to the missing ring.
That Friday, Badamo posted fliers throughout the cafeteria in hopes of some good Samaritan returning her ring. The rest of the day was spent working as usual.
“When I came out of the meeting, I decided to check my message,” she said. “It was [from] a student who [said she had found my ring].”
According to Badamo, the student left her name but did not leave a phone number. However, Badamo was still hopeful that the ring would be returned. By Tuesday, Badamo had not heard back from the student.
“I was still hopeful [that] somehow the student would get in touch with me,” she said.
On Tuesday, Badamo filed a report of the missing ring with Officer Michael Campbell in Public Safety.
Campbell was able to get the phone records from Badamo’s office phone and traced the call from the student, Hu. Just a few short days later, Badamo’s ring was returned.
“It filled a hole in my heart when she gave [the ring] back to me,” Badamo said. “[Hu’s] a special person, so honest and caring to return [my ring].”
“I went to the chapel everyday, [thinking] ‘If I’m meant to get it back, I’ll get it back,'” Badamo said of her reaction. “Good things happen.”
