NYPD retrieves lost diamond engagement ring of a UK couple from drain in Times Square
A British couple, whose diamond engagement ring fell down a utility grate in New York's iconic Times Square, will finally get it back, thanks to the NYPD and social media.
John Drennan and Daniella Anthony from Peterborough, UK, was in New York to celebrate their 10-year dating anniversary last week when they lost the precious ring.
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The precious ring[/caption]
The New York Police Department said Saturday the couple sought their help after the ring fell nearly 8 feet down a utility grate. The NYPD Emergency Services could not immediately recover the ring and the distraught couple left for the UK.
The bride-to-be, Daniella, tweeted on Sunday that her fiancee John proposed in Central Park, but the ring was too big and fell off while they were walking in Times Square on Friday.
"We were walking back to the hotel. I can still visualise the ring. Bouncing once... Bouncing twice and then it was gone," Drennan said.
The distraught couple called police straight away and officers were able to jar the grate open with a crowbar.
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NYPD retrieves lost diamond engagement ring of a UK couple from drain in Times Square[/caption]
They looked underneath, with the aid of torches, for at least two hours but could not recover the ring.
After recovering the ring on Saturday, the NYPD launched a manhunt on social media, tweeting several photos of the ring, which they cleaned for the couple, along with security footage of their reaction to its fall.
"WANTED for dropping his fiancee's ring in @TimesSquareNYC!
"She said Yes - but he was so excited that he dropped the ring in a grate. Our @NYPDSpecialops officers rescued it & would like to return it to the happy couple. Help us find them? ??" the tweet said, giving a phone number.
"We are so happy, we can't believe it," the Drennan said after discovering their lost engagement ring has been found.
Speaking to BBC News, Drennan said he had carried the ring around in his pocket for two days before finding the right moment.
"I want to clarify that I did not propose over a grate in Times Square - that's where we lost it," he said.
"The time was right. There were autumn leaves everywhere and not many people."
Daniella said yes straight away but they both knew the ring was not the right size.
"I tried to tell John it was too big, but he insisted I wear it," she said.
"We could not believe it, we really thought it was gone," she said.
Daniella was inconsolable and so they left without leaving their names with police, feeling hopeless.
They arrived home on Sunday and said they were planning on going straight to the jewellery store to buy another ring.
But just moments after they touched down at the airport in the UK, a friend alerted them to the social media campaign being driven by the NYPD.
"We don't use Twitter - we had absolutely no idea this was going on. But we are so happy."
The NYPD said it has now "closed" the case and was working on getting the ring back to the couple in the UK and thanked Twitter users for helping to identify them, CBS News reported. PTI
