Dyess teen finds lost diamond ring treasure in trick-or-treat stash

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Autumn Velez
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday, filled with costumes, scary stories and candy for the kids; for one Dyess Airman, Halloween became a nightmare. However, through social media and mass networking, this loadmaster's biggest fear didn't turn into a Halloween horror story.

During base housing's trick-or-treat festivities, Staff Sgt. Kathaleen Greenwood's engagement ring, a family heirloom, slid off her finger while passing out candy.

"As soon as we got into our truck after handing out candy, I went to twirl the rings around my finger and realized I only had one on," said Greenwood, a loadmaster with the 39th Airlift Squadron. "I just froze with shock."

This ring wasn't just any ordinary ring to Greenwood. She had the diamonds from her late grandmother's wedding band placed into a custom-designed setting.

"The ring is so special to me, because it is a piece of my grandmother I can wear forever as my own," Greenwood said.

Greenwood sought help in searching for her ring by relying on social media and e-mail to get the word out. She and her husband probed the area where they passed out candy the night before, still coming up empty handed.

"Friday morning, I came back to base to hunt for my ring, with no luck," Greenwood said. "After going all day without hearing anything back from the work e-mails and posting on almost every Dyess affiliated website, we made a stack of flyers with a picture, description and reward to post anywhere and everywhere."

Saturday Greenwood continued her quest to find her ring.

"We even went to a pawn shop, which was not very willing to help, leaving me even more devastated about never finding my ring," she said.

As Greenwood walked out of the pawn shop, her phone rang; it was Veronica Herrera, a Dyess spouse, calling to inform Greenwood that her 13-year-old daughter, Sarah, had found the ring.

"I immediately began crying tears of joy," Greenwood said.

Sarah had simply been looking through her candy and at the bottom of her bag she found a treasure. Instantly, Sarah told her mother she had found a ring. Sarah's mom had previously seen a Facebook post on a Dyess spouse's page and knew exactly who it belonged to.

"Oh my, we found the ring," said Sarah's mom. "I immediately contacted the poor lady that was franticly looking."

The mixed feelings of worry and grief had been lifted from Greenwood's chest.

"She was almost in tears when she came to pick up her ring," Herrera said. "It was clear that the heirloom meant a lot to her."

Thanks to the power of social media and the integrity of the Herrera family, Greenwood was able to recover her lost prized possession.

"I cannot thank the Herrera family enough," Greenwood said. "It's amazing to know there are still genuine people out there. I will forever be thankful to them."