Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 21, 2016
LOST RING FINDS ITS WAY HOME
The perseverance of a stranger brings a wedding band back to its owner two years later
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Call it an early
Christmas miracle.
In November 2014, David
Bailey was elk hunting in
the Blue Mountains be-
tween Heppner and Ukiah.
The weather was cold, and
the snow more than half a
foot deep. He climbed back
in his truck, parked in a lot
off Highway 53, and started
to take off his gear.
“I suddenly noticed that
my wedding ring was gone,”
he said. “I got to thinking
about all the places I
stopped along the way and
took off my gloves.”
David searched part of
the approximately four
miles he trekked, but to no
avail. The snow was too
deep.
Defeated, he went back
to his truck.
“I got a little emotional,”
he recalled. “That ring had
been on my finger for 42
years.”
David drove to a spot he
knew there was cell service
and called his wife, Vicki, to
tell her what happened.
“She was kind of disap-
pointed,” he said.
He mentally retraced his
steps with the intention of
going back in the spring
with a metal detector to
find his ring.
That didn’t happen.
“He’d been pretty upset
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Vicki and David show off their wedding bands.
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
A man and his son found David’s lost wedding ring while stopping for a meal during
the spring of 2015. The man put up signs in plastic bags.
about it,” Vicki Bailey said of
her husband.
He inquired about replac-
ing the gold band and repli-
cating the inscription. In
1972, the ring and inscrip-
tion cost $69.95.
Replacing it would have
cost $953. David decided to
hold off on buying a new
ring.
“That’s a good chunk of
change,” he explained.
—
In the spring of 2015, a
man and his son were out
in the Blue Mountain
wilderness target shooting.
The pair stopped to eat in
a parking area off Highway
53 and during the meal,
something shiny caught the
son’s eye. He went to inves-
tigate and found a gold ring
with the inscription, “VM
9/16/72 DB” on it. Correctly
believing it to be a wedding
ring, he was filled with a
sense of urgency to return
the ring to its owner.
The father-and-son team
made two signs, put them
in plastic bags and posted
them at the parking lot.
Then they tried to use the
date on the ring to find a
marriage license matching
the initials. Searching for
the proverbial needle in the
haystack, they came up
empty.
Until the fall of 2015.
That’s when David and
Vicki’s friend, Les Larson,
who lives in Heppner, was
in the same area scouting
hunting locations. He saw
the sign in the tree, but
was too far away to read
it. Not wanting to get out
in a downpour, he drove
closer and took out his
binoculars to read
“Found — Man’s wedding
band.” The sign had a
number to call.
Les, who was part of
David and Vicki’s wedding
party, called them with the
number.
David called, and of
course, there was no an-
swer. He left a message de-
scribing the ring.
Not 30 seconds later his
phone rang. The voice on
the other line said: “You
nailed it. That’s the ring I
have.”
“It was kind of amazing,”
David said. “How often does
that happen?”
David arranged for his
friends to pick up the ring
from the man, who request-
ed anonymity.
“He didn’t feel like it was
anything special,” David
said.
David has a different
opinion, noting that the
man would check regularly
for months to see if the
signs he put up remained,
in hopes that the person
who lost the ring would re-
turn and see them.
See RING, Page 3A
The Road to Bethlehem
DECEMBER 24
6:00 PM
CHRISTMAS EVE
CANDLELIGHT SERVICE
(Childcare Not Provided)
DECEMBER 25
10:00 AM
CHRISTMAS DAY
WORSHIP SERVICE
(Nursery Care Provided)
SALT CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH | 15075 SALT CREEK ROAD
PH: 503.623.2976 | www.saltcreekchurch.org
Christmas Eve
Add meaning to your
Christmas season by celebrating
the birth of Jesus in worship.
7 p.m. Candlelight Service
10 p.m. Candlelight
Service with Communion
Christmas Eve
Candlelight Service
5:00 pm • December 24
Please note the time change is earlier than last year.
A traditional service of carols, special music
and candle light for the whole family!
565 SE LaCreole Drive • 503-623-2481
dallasumc@questoffice.net • www.umcdallas.com
Sunday
Christmas Day
10 a.m. Worship Service
Coffee & Cookies
after each service
All are welcome.
Come as you are.
Trinity Lutheran
Church
St.Thomas
Episcopal Church
Christmas Eve
Candlelight Service 5:00 pm
Eucharist Celebration
Christmas Day 10:00 am
320 SE Fir Villa Rd, Dallas
(across from the drive-in movie theater)
503-623-2233
www.dallastlc.org
1486 SW Levens, Dallas
503-623-8522 • www.stthomasdallas.org