(CNN) — Scattered throughout hurricane-ravaged communities in Florida are piles of debris, remnants of what once…
(CNN) — Scattered across hurricane-ravaged communities in Florida are piles of debris, remnants of what were once homes. Cherished memories—photo albums, family heirlooms, and symbols of love—swallowed by flood waters and carried miles away, now reduced to mere fragments and discarded among the wreckage.
However, in one of these piles of lost memories, a small black velvet box was discovered with a ring and a note that said: “I was 18 when my parents gave it to me.”
Now, Joe Kovach, an engineer who manages one of the debris sites in Tarpon Springs, Florida, where the box was found, is searching for its owner.
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“Everyone has basically been throwing their entire lives to the curb after the storm when everything flooded. My own boss’s house had 75 centimeters (of water) in it, and I saw his face and how devastating it can be for everyone,” Kovach, a Pinellas County Public Works engineer, told CNN.
“A lot of people in the community were really affected by these two storms, if there’s just a little bit I can do to give back, then that’s perfect.”
A contractor who was collecting and compacting debris with an excavator discovered the ring when he looked down and saw the box.
“This was a needle in a haystack, for sure. For something like that to survive all that when everything else was so wet and saturated, it was incredible,” Kovach said.
Joe Kovach tries to find the owner of a ring found in the rubble left by Florida’s last two hurricanes. (Courtesy of Joe Kovach)
Although the ring was found after Hurricane Milton, Kovach is certain the treasure was initially lost in the ruins of Hurricane Helene, based on the pile of debris it came from, which Pinellas County Public Works tracks. The ring’s owner is likely from Crystal Beach, Ozona or Palm Harbor, Kovach said.
On Tuesday, after the contractor told him about the ring, Kovach posted a photo of the box and note on several local community Facebook pages, asking if it belonged to anyone. He did not include a photo or description of the ring to ensure that it is returned to the rightful owner who can accurately describe it. On the inside lid of the box is a gold engraving with the jewelry brand, The Danbury Mint.
Within two days, the post received more than 700 reactions, with community members sharing ideas about how Kovach could find the ring’s rightful owner.
“The feedback was overwhelming at times in a good way,” Kovach said. “The entire community is intrigued and determined to find the owner.”
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Their small act of kindness resonated deeply with a heartbroken community struggling to rebuild and find its way forward. Along with widespread death and destruction, two major hurricanes in a short period have left a vast trail of despair and shattered nerves.
Hurricane Milton claimed at least 23 lives in Florida, bringing deadly storm surge, torrential rains and dozens of tornadoes, compounding the suffering inflicted less than two weeks earlier by another “once-in-a-lifetime” storm, Helene, which killed another 20. people as he crossed the state.
“This area has never seen anything like this often,” Kovach said. “Because of the amount of damage there is along the coastal communities, we’re going to be doing this for quite some time as far as cleaning up and collecting (debris) and getting back to normal.”
Semi-trailer trucks full of storm debris continue to arrive, each truck unloading the ruins of people’s lives. Each pile of what looks like broken, soggy trash tells a different story of the family and home it came from.
A broken armchair, where someone could have spent most of their nights with a book. Tons of kids’ toys—Barbies, remote-controlled cars, and action figures—that will never be played with again. A fanny pack containing family photos and an arcade game card, and even a Social Security card whose owner Kovach was able to track down.
His commitment to reuniting people with their belongings after the hurricanes was inspired by someone’s act of kindness toward him years ago when he lost his wallet at a concert and the person who found it tracked it down online.
“I was very grateful for that, so this is like paying it forward and just taking care of people,” Kovach said. “Every time I find things like this, I see what I can do.”
So far, Kovach has yet to receive a response from the person who lost her ring, but she hopes she eventually will, and when she does, she says, she would like to return her lost treasure in person.
“It would be amazing,” Kovach said. “I hope we can do a meet-and-greet just to see the excitement on his face.”
Anyone with information about the ring can direct message Pinellas County officials on their Facebook page.
