When Kathy Lane was driving in San Diego earlier this month, she spotted firefighters on a corner, running a fill-the-boot drive to raise money for a facility that helps burn survivors.
She quickly searched for some spare change in her car and dropped her donation into the boot. What she didn't realize at the time is that she also accidentally "donated" something else: a cherished diamond ring.
But Lane's inadvertent gift led to her offering a different contribution to San Diego's Burn Institute thanks to the outreach by the department.
"Nope, we've never seen anything like that before," said Capt. Tony Tyquiengco. The ring wasn't found in the boot he was holding during the fundraiser, but he was among the firefighters present for the discovery.
And once the firefighters caught a glimpse of the diamond ring that had been in the boot, their reaction was pretty simple: begin cracking jokes.
"The jokes started flying about how this was from a disgruntled wife," Tyquiengco said.
"We didn't know if it was real. It looked real," he added.
It was definitely the real deal. Lane said the ring, with its five square stones, had been a valuable gift that had been in her possession for a while.
"It's pretty unique," she said.
It took a few hours for Lane to realize the ring had slipped. Although the ring had been a bit loose, she had never had it fall off before.
"I really did think it was lost," Lane said.
Her first thought was that the ring must have fell into the boot, so she contacted the San Diego Fire Department. Later that same afternoon, Lane received an email response asking her to describe the ring to see if it was a match—and much to her relief, it was.
"I was thrilled," she said.
Even though he had never found unintended items like a diamond ring in any previous boot drives, Tyquiengco certainly understands how such a thing can happen. For those donating, as well as the firefighters involved, the experience on city corners and streets can be harried, to say the least.
"It's chaotic," he said. "You try to do it as fast as you can."
And what would have happened if Lane hadn't contacted the department about her ring?
"We were planning to use social media to try to find the owner, but who knows if the person would see it?" Tyquiengco added.
In the course of getting the ring back on her finger, Lane also found out more about the Burn Institute from Monica Muñoz, the fire department's public information officer who was able to reunite owner and ring. The experience motivated Lane to explore volunteering opportunities at the center, she said.
"That's kind of a cool story," said Tyquiengco, who has been with the department for about 20 years and has been participating in fill-the-boot drives for the Burn Institute just as long. Last year, the campaign, which includes firefighters from 30 departments, raised $200,000 for Burn Institute programs, such as the Camp Beyond the Scars for children with burn injuries and the Firefighters Red Line of Courage Fund, according to the center.
Lane had nothing but thanks for the firefighters who found and returned her ring. She had worked with paramedics in a previous job and wasn't surprised by the San Diego firefighters' honesty.
"They help people all the time on the job, and it's nice to know that doesn't stop when they're off the job," Lane said.
Hearing that sentiment, Tyquiengco hoped to someday meet Lane.
"Maybe she'll come by the station," he said.
As for preventing a repeat "accidental donation," Lane said she has already ordered ring guards to make sure it doesn't happen again.
