HOBE SOUND, Fla. — A Martin County woman is on a mission to give back a potentially sentimental piece of jewelry that she found in a parking lot nearly two years ago.
She has been trying all that time to find the owner and is giving her search another shot.
Nicole Winchip said she's been long wondering about the story behind the ring.
"I was going to Publix in Hobe Sound to do shopping and on the way out I looked down and I found a ring," Winchip said.
She gave it to Publix to hold on to in case the owner came back for it.
"At first look, it was a little dirty so I polished it up a little bit," Winchip said, finding it had five names engraved on the sides, which she believes could be names of the owner's children along with their birthstones.
"There are five names total, three of which are Greg, Tammi, and Jon."
When no one came to claim it from Publix, the grocery store released it back to Winchip who kept searching.
"As a mom, I would hope somebody would come forward and return something I lost, especially a sentimental ring like this," Winchip said.
She then brought it to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, which posted it in the paper, but still no luck.
"Hopefully being on TV will bring some more light and maybe the kids will come forward," Winchip said.
Martin County Chief Deputy John Budensiek said the agency is in no rush to get rid of the ring or sell it at auction. He, too, hopes to return it to its owner and learn the story behind it.
"We’ll hold it for a pretty decent amount of time, probably hold it for another year … because it seems, in this case, it's something significant to someone," Budensiek said.
Budensiek said the agency is not disclosing all five names on the ring so the owner can more easily prove its theirs by knowing all five names.
