Lost Ring Draws Strangers Together

Published on 16/11/09

They were two strangers who never crossed paths but now they have a strong bond - thanks to a diamond ring.

Garsfontein resident Rene Walters lost her wedding ring in the ablution section at Centurion Mall. A week later she had given up hope of ever recovering the ring, which she had had for 18 years.

It was with sheer disbelief that she received a phone call from Johanna Nantsho, a good Samaritan who recovered the ring and hoped she would find the owner.

Nantsho did find Walters after the latter posted notices at the mall's toilet doors offering a reward to whoever had the ring.

Fate led them to meet. Nantsho was not meant to enter the mall on the day they did but she received a phone call from her daughter asking her to buy some items for her there.

"We usually get taxis from Centurion when it is late, and that day I was not even meant to go inside the mall. I decided to use a toilet while I was there and I found a diamond ring on the floor.

"There was a cleaner inside the toilet but I was reluctant to give her the ring, so I kept it and hoped that somehow I would eventually find the owner.

"It was only on the next Friday when I went to the mall again that I saw notices with the phone numbers of the woman who had lost her ring," said Nantsho.

She said some of her colleagues had advised her to keep the ring for herself or to sell it to a second-hand jewellery shop, but she refused.

"My four-year-old son fell in love with the ring and wanted to keep it for himself. I actually tried it on but it did not suit me.

"Besides, in principle it was not good to keep the ring because it was not mine and I knew that someone out there was crying because it had been lost," she said.

A delighted and relieved Walters said she was encouraged that there were people like Nantsho out there as she had given up all hope of recovering the ring.

"I figured that the ring might have fallen when I washed my hands in the basin but we searched everywhere in any case.