Halloween spirits may have been at play last week when an unusual set of circumstances and the act of some good Samaritans brought a lost wedding ring back to its owner.
After a night of trick-or-treating last Friday, some Naperville children dumped their baskets and noticed an item that didn’t look like candy.
The Carlin family had been in the Plainfield subdivision where a relative lives.
“At first, I thought it might be a toy ring,” said David Carlin, who works for the state treasurer’s office. “I took a photo of it and text-messaged my brother, saying we’re going to want to come trick-or-treating in your neighborhood every year from now on.”
Carlin said he recognized a teaching moment for his daughters, ages 6 and 8, and told them they would circulate fliers in the neighborhood the following day.
“The girls immediately got very excited about the prospect of solving the mystery,” he said.
But back in Plainfield, a resident of the Auburn Lakes subdivision was wringing her hands with worry.
“I’d been giving out handfuls of candy,” said Jennifer Vasek. “I knew my ring was a little loose, but not to the extent that it might fall off.”
Nevertheless, while preparing to take a shower that evening, Vasek discovered that the diamond-inlaid band of her two-piece wedding ring was gone.
“I just thought I’d never be getting it back,” Vasek said. “My husband was consoling me and telling me he would put signs out in our neighborhood.”
Vasek immediately reported the lost item to the Plainfield police and posted a message on the Auburn Lakes social media page.
The following day, the Carlins put their plan into action.
“We woke up the next morning, made fliers on the computer, printed them off and jumped in the car to go out there,” Carlin said.
At the multiple entrances of the Auburn Lakes neighborhood, the Vaseks had posted signs that read “Lost, wedding ring in trick-or-treat bag.” Meanwhile, the Carlins were en route to Plainfield with fliers reading “Found. We found a diamond ring in our Halloween candy.”
“Before we even got there, my brother text-messaged me a photo of the sign that was posted in his neighborhood,” Carlin said. “I pulled off to the side of the road, called the number and told her: ‘We have your ring.’ All she said was ‘I’m going to cry!’ “
Vasek said she cried happy tears when the Carlins arrived with her wedding ring.
“I told them ‘thank you’ and how grateful I was, but I forgot to even ask their name,” Vasek said. “I was just so ecstatic to get the ring back.”
She said the Carlins would have no part of a reward she tried to give them.
“Her reaction was the best part of all of this,” Carlin said. “It lets you know you did the right thing.”
Vasek said she still would like to send a thank-you gift to the Carlins.
“It’s so nice, so breathtaking to see that people like this are in our world,” she said. “They’re just wonderful people, that’s all, and I really would like others to know. They didn’t have to do what they did.”
Carlin said he believes in karma and paying forward a kindness.
He said: “I’d like to think our kids would do the exact same thing.”
Similar to what happened in Plainfield, Carlin referenced a recent news story about a woman in Arizona who accidentally handed out her wedding ring with the Halloween candy. That ring hasn’t yet been returned.
“I don’t know if it helps, but maybe if people out there hear about our story it will help encourage that ring to be returned,” Carlin said.
