Walton County Deputies Reunite Tennessee Couple With Wedding Ring Lost on Vacation
Walton County Sheriff’s Office deputies reunited a Tennessee couple with a custom wedding ring and other treasured belongings lost during a July trip to Walton County, closing out a search the family had all but given up on.
The Balentines, who have been married since October 2019 and visit Walton County regularly, were on a Panhandle beach vacation in July when a wallet, a pair of earrings and a custom-made rose gold ring turned up missing. The couple filed a missing property report with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office before returning home to Memphis, unsure whether their toddler had thrown the items away, they had misplaced them, or someone had taken them, they told deputies.
“We called every week for more than a month, but every time we came up empty,” the couple said in a statement to the sheriff’s office. “We had lost all hope.”
The break came on a Sunday in August, when the family got a call from the sheriff’s office: a traffic stop had turned up the missing wallet. Deputies Cody Tarman and Chandler Rowe made no promises about the ring — with more than a month gone, the odds of finding it seemed slim. Two hours later, deputies called again. They had found the ring.
The couple returned over the Labor Day weekend to reclaim the ring in person. “We couldn’t believe it,” they said of the recovery. “Not in my wildest dreams.” The family said the experience may even factor into a move to Walton County. “We were thinking about moving to Walton County. Maybe this is a sign,” they said.
A suspect found with the couple’s belongings was taken into custody on charges unrelated to the potential theft, according to the sheriff’s office.
Originally reported by WTVY News 4.
Image: WTVY News 4.
