Lost rings found by city employees after days of dumpster diving

KRIS6 News
By: Althea Castro De La Mata
Posted at 6:21 PM, Jul 12, 2023
 and last updated 4:41 PM, Jul 12, 2023

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The last thing Emily Dickerson was expecting when she came to Corpus Christi was to lose and regain something that seemed impossible to find.

Her dad had passed away when she was very young, and the only memory she had left of him was a cremation ring.

“This is what I have so my dad is with me all the time no matter what.” Dickerson said.

Dickerson was visiting from Iowa and she was in town on a school trip. Her and her classmates spent part of the day at McGee Beach, when suddenly she realized she had misplaced her ring, along with three other ones.

The rings were left in a lunch box that was later accidentally trashed and held a lot of sentimental value.

“It kind off hit me the realization, oh my gosh, I misplaced these I don’t know what I did, and then I realized where I had left them, and I was a complete utter of panic," Dickerson said. "I ran to the bathroom and called my mom and told her this is the situation I do not know what to do I was in tears I was a mess.”

Dickerson’s mom Tina Koch immediately called the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to try and see if they could possibly find it, which they said seemed impossible.

Three days later after digging through the trash, city employees found all four rings.

“I am surprised she even called me, I answered her questions, she wanted a description of the ring and then she told me she had it and I had no words I instantly started crying.” Koch said.

Dickerson and her mom said it’s inspiring to still find hope in humanity.

“They didn’t really completely know the story behind the rings either," Dickerson said. "They still went above and beyond to (find) that.” Dickerson said.

Koch said she believes the ring was meant to find its way back to her.

“It was like finding a needle in a hay sack, I am a true, anyone who believes in a higher power believes that Emily definitely had a guardian angel that day,” Koch said.