Lost ring found in Lake Michigan

JACKSONPORT, Wis. (WLUK) - One Howard man thought a piece of his jewelry was long gone. He went snorkeling in Lake Michigan last Thursday, near Jacksonport in Door County. His wedding ring slipped off his finger, into the water...and, for all he knew, down the drain.

"I figured the chances were one in a million that anyone would find it, but you never know," said Mike Hnilicka.

When he left the shores of Jacksonport last week, Mike Hnilicka thought his wedding ring was gone for good.

"He said we just have one little incident, and I thought 'Oh no, now what,'" explained Mike's wife Brenda. "And he showed me his hand and right away his ring was gone. But better his ring than him."

The Hnilickas thought the ring was gone, but just a few days after Mike went snorkeling, diving instructor Bob Hazelwood took a student to that same area.

"It's a lot of fun diving and doing things up here, so help anybody out I can," said Hazelwood. "If I find something I'm going to give it back to them. That's just the way it should be."

Bob found the ring on a piling. He says it was probably about seven or eight feet below the surface, but he didn't know where it belonged. At the recommendation of someone else, he brought it to the county clerk's office.

"Normally right now we'd be working on elections and focusing on that, so we took a little break from that yesterday and did a little detective work," said Jill Lau, Door County Clerk.

The ring had one clue for the "detectives."

"It has an inscription on the inside that says 'LOVE BRENDA' and our wedding date on it," said Mike.

"Just a shot in the dark, decided we would call up to our register of deeds Carrie Petersilka and see if she could maybe research marriage licenses in Wisconsin for that date with a bride's name of Brenda," explained Lau. "She did find one, the wedding date was in 1986, and only one person in the state had a bride's name of Brenda."

The clerk's office found a phone number for the Hnilickas.

"I was shocked. I was pretty much in awe," Mike said about when he got the call.

"I was at work and he called me and I started to cry," said Brenda.

With the ring back on Mike's finger, he says he will continue his snorkeling adventures, but he'll be a little more careful.

"I'm looking forward to going snorkeling again though, without the ring. I'll leave that behind next time," said Mike.

The couple says they are grateful for the help finding and returning the ring.

This wasn't the first time Mike Hnilicka lost his wedding ring. A while back he lost it while working in a paper mill. However, he found it in the trash.

The Hnilickas will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary next year.