Newlywed Auli Ranta had been swimming in Lake Jämijärvi in Finland nearly 50 years ago when she lost her wedding and engagement rings
An elderly woman who lost her wedding and engagement rings nearly 50 years ago was left flabbergasted when divers discovered them.
Auli Ranta had just tied the knot with her husband, Jukka, when she lost the rings while swimming in a lake in Finland. The couple, who are still together after 57 years, were left devastated and had been without her treasured rings for most of their marriage.
However, after reading an article about divers Christopher Hokkanen and Aki Korhonen, who search for lost objects as a hobby, she contacted them. She said: “I thought it was great that there are people who do things like this.” The two divers made the trip to Lake Jämijärvi in southern Finland, near where the couple lives, on June 28.
Auli explained that she lost the rings while swimming in the lake with family members around 50 years ago, but she doesn’t remember the exact year. Her family helped her to look for the rings at the time, but to no avail.
She showed them the area where she was swimming all those decades ago, and Christopher and Aki got ready to enter the water. They admitted they were skeptical whether the dive would yield any results, but “circumstances were on our side,” said Christopher.
He said he was disappointed to pull up two objects that appeared to be rings but ultimately were not. But then one of Auli’s gold bands shone in the sun-rays beaming through the surface and onto his palm.
He later said: “I was thrilled we found it, Aki and I were very excited.” The pair marked the location of the first ring and set about looking for the second. It only took around 10 minutes before the long-lost rings were ‘one’ again.
They got out of the lake and didn’t tell Auli straight away, preferring to wait for the right moment to surprise her. Judging by their expressions, she initially thought their dive was fruitless.
She said: “They looked so serious, I presumed nothing was found.” But then they showed her the two gold bands and the OAP could hardly believe it. Auli said: “It was a lucky day, a lucky moment. Especially when you think 50 years have passed.”
She added: “I thought it was absolutely wonderful that they came here and looked for me.”
Christopher and Aki have been searching for lost objects together for about five years. Before collaborating, Christopher did underwater searches and Aki did surface searches.
About five years ago, they met on social media and combined their skills, Christopher taught Aki how to dive and Aki taught Christopher how to use search equipment.
They said they charge a small fee for searches, between £43 and £173 to cover their costs. The fee depends on where the missing object is and how demanding the search is.
Christopher said: “The most common item to look for is a ring, which can easily fall into the water while swimming.
“It is not uncommon for an engagement or wedding ring to be thrown into the water at the end of an argument.”
The two divers said they have assembled a network of around 60 likeminded people to carry out searches in waterways in the country.
They said they want to break the belief that an object lost in a large body of water is lost forever. It’s also incredibly rewarding for the searchers, they said.
Christopher added: “I was particularly pleased with Saturday’s search. It made me so happy to see other people so happy.”