Marine Proposes After Stranger Returns Lost $5,000 Engagement Ring

When former Marine Daniel Frye decided to propose to the love of his life, he wanted to make sure every last detail was perfect from the location to the ring.

For months, Frye saved every penny he could to buy his girlfriend Lauren Williams, 25, the perfect ring. Once he got the ring, he surprised her with a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Caroline, which is one of her favorite places. “I had it all planned,” he explained. “Her parents were even supposed to drive up and meet us and jump out and surprise her right after I proposed.”

Photo by Daniel Frye and Lauren Williams

“I tell her you saved me,” said Frye, who was struggling with PTSD after serving two tours in Afghanistan when he met Williams. “I don’t think she really believed me thought until Thanksgiving when I introduced her to my family and they told her. I went from sleeping in cars to great success. I have a really good job now and she’s the reason.”

However, seconds before Frye was about to propose to the love of his life, he realized the ring was missing. “I looked over and saw complete panic on his face,” Williams said. “I saw him reaching in every pocket and it just clicked. I knew right then he’d been planning on asking me and that the ring was gone. I just knew.”

“We searched, we looked all over the estate and filed a police report,” Williams said. “I’ve never seen him cry until that day.” Tragically, they never found the ring and had to return home, so Frye decided to tell their story to the news in hopes that someone would find it. The story was then shared on Facebook, and a woman in Georgia realized she had the ring. “I had been getting on the bus and my arms were full of bags and a man thought I’d dropped something and threw it in my bag,” said the woman. “At the time I didn’t look to see what it was. Then I was going through my bags and saw the ring box.”

The woman tracked Williams down on Facebook and let them know that the ring was safe with her. “I was just happy to make sure the rightful owner got it,” she said. Frye immediately got in the car and drove six hours to get the ring. “He must have hugged me ten times.” Frye then got back in the car, drove another six hours and immediately got down on one knee and proposed.

“It was the best..better than what I expected because I had put so much into it and there was so much worry and effort,” he said. “It was all worth it to see that glow on her face. I’ve never bought anything that expensive before but that’s the one she wanted so that’s the one I got her.”

“So much blood sweat and tears went into that ring,” Williams said. “It’s a full blown miracle that we got it back. What are the chances? What are the odds?”