Woman's diamond ring turns up at pawn shop after vanishing at car wash

WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) -- A woman who lost her engagement ring less than two months before her wedding was reunited with it after someone tried to sell it at a pawn shop.

Casey Corradin, who lives in Fishtown, lost the unique black diamond ring her fiancé proposed with in September. She said she had already begun the process of buying a replacement when she learned the original had surfaced at a pawn shop about 20 minutes from where it went missing.

"I'm never taking this ring off again," Corradin said.

Corradin said she removed the ring to put in hand sanitizer while in her car on Feb. 19 and placed it in the cup holder. She then went to a car wash in Brandywine Hundred, Delaware. She said she stepped out briefly while workers cleaned the inside of her car. When she returned, the ring was gone.

"I was like, 'My rings missing, my rings missing,'" Corradin said. "I had three rings in my cup holder, and my engagement was the only ring that was missing."

After searching for the ring, Corradin called the police. Officers searched the car wash and the employees and reviewed surveillance video, according to Corradin. A manager told Action News they did not find evidence of theft and conducted a deep clean of the facility's vacuums.

"I blamed myself so much because had I not taken my ring off. I could have prevented all of this, so I felt so guilty," Corradin said.

Believing the ring was gone for good, she posted about the loss on TikTok. Her father, Paul Corradin of Wilmington, began visiting local pawn shops with flyers featuring a description and photo of the ring.

"So I thought one of two things was going to happen: one, it's going to end up on a girlfriend's finger, or two, they're going to try to sell it," he said.

On Monday, the owner of Levy's Jewelers in Wilmington contacted the family after recognizing the ring.

"I just noticed it was the exact ring with the description and picture that was on it," said Antonio Farrace, owner of Levy's Pawn Shop.

Farrace said he followed store policy by calling the police and that the man who brought in the ring remained at the shop to speak with officers.

"The person who brought it in was very helpful. He just said that he had found it in the trash," Farrace said.

"They really helped us out. I was so thankful to them," Paul Corradin said.

Corradin said she views the ring's return as both a lesson and a sign.

"No matter what, we're always going to be able to find our way back because this was a zero percent chance," she said.

As of now, no charges have been filed.