MESA, AZ — Lou Whitney couldn't help but get emotional as he embraced the diver who miraculously reunited him with his lost wedding band on Tuesday.
“As soon as I hit the water my ring popped off immediately,” said Whitney.
Whitney says a little over a week ago, while floating the Salt River alongside his wife, kids, and extended family, his $4,000 wedding ring slipped off his finger while jumping into the water.
“I was devastated...this girl means the world to me. I was scared to tell her I lost it,” said Whitney.
Whitney says he was just weeks away from celebrating the second anniversary with a woman he calls the love of his life.
He says the couple heard about the "Salty Scuba Chick" and her "Salty Scuba Squad" from a local in the area. The Salty Scuba Squad is a group of divers known for locating and returning lost items like phones, sunglasses, and more from murky depths of the river.
“We brought metal detectors, so we were scanning the whole area,” said Salty Scuba Squad member Josh Hume.
Hume says the group dove into the area where Whitney said it slipped off. Against heavy odds, Hume says something caught his eye.
“I actually found it without the metal detector, the light came down, it has diamonds, and it was kind of glowing in a little crevice,” said Hume. “It’s always special to return something so sentimental.”
“It’s rare these days to find people like this. They didn’t want anything from me, no money or anything, they just do it out of the kindness of their heart and I love these guys,” said Whitney.
“I was underwater with him when he found it and we screamed with joy,” said Connie Wickstrom.
Wickstrom, known as the Salty Scuba Chick, is the group's founding member. She leads the divers as they generously give their time and effort to make moments like Tuesday's happen.
“We love doing this so we’re happy to try. It’s not always a guarantee we’re gonna find things like that,” said Wickstrom.
What they are guaranteed to find, however, is trash.
“Unfortunately diving, we realized there’s trash everywhere,” said Hume.
The scuba squad has lifted thousands of pounds of trash from the river, aiming to preserve the delicate ecosystem. This Saturday, they will join forces with Natural Restorations, inviting the community to race down the river and collect at least one bag of trash along the way.
“For me, I think we all get to enjoy it so it’s all our responsibility to take care of it,” said Hume.
It also gives the Salty Scuba Squad a better view to find and return our lost treasures.
If you’d like to learn more about their efforts or even donate to help them maintain their equipment, click here.