Rings returned after 35 years

? More than 35 years after it went down the drain, Jo Howard’s wedding ring has been returned to her.

Howard no longer lives in the suburban Seattle house where her daughter, Valeria Mullen, accidentally washed a birthstone ring and Howard’s wedding ring down the sink.

Shirley Price bought the home of Bob and Jo Howard in Kirkland, Wash., when the Howards moved to Hutchinson in 1970. It was Price’s plumber who found the rings in the overflow section of the sink while doing some repair work.

“It was just amazing,” Price said. “Here were two rings, not connected, and they were sitting in my plumbing system. I immediately started looking for the former owner.”

But her search wasn’t easy. After two years of disappointment, Price thought she would never find the Howards.

“We would find Howards on the Internet,” she said, “but they were never the right family.”

Finally, her son found a new Internet site that produced new names and persuaded her to try again.

Last month, she finally found the right Jo Howard in Hutchinson.

“When we finally called, I almost couldn’t believe it,” Price said. “I had finally found them, and they were so extremely happy.”

Howard, naturally, was surprised when Price asked whether she had ever lost her wedding rings in the house.

“I said, ‘Oh my word, yes,'” Howard recalled. “I just started crying.”

More than 35 years ago, Howard’s daughter had washed the rings in a sink filled with ammonia and water. When she was finished, she pulled the plug without removing the rings first.

Howard thought she would never see her rings again.

“You always hear about these stories. Now it’s happening to us,” she said. “It’s like getting married all over again.”

After getting her rings back, Howard tried to give Price a reward, but Price returned the money.