Bernie and Carla Squitieri are one lucky couple (but especially Bernie). Carla left her wedding ring in paper towels on the kitchen counter in their St. Louis, Missouri house. The next morning, Bernie threw out the towels, and the ring wrapped inside…which is worth $400,000.

When Carla got home, she understandably started panicked. The couple called their local waste management service and were told the garbage, including the ring, was on its way to a radioactive landfill.

Undeterred, Bernie begged sanitation manager Joe Evans to divert the truck to a local transfer station. He did. The Squitieris headed down and despite warnings that that there was a “slim to none” chance of finding the bling, it was recovered in just 25 minutes. Thanks in part to an assist from workers.

“It’s not so much that we found the ring, but [manager Evans] was such an honest guy and I wanted to give him some recognition,” Bernie said. “He could’ve put the ring in his pocket and nobody would’ve ever noticed. It gave my wife a really good feeling and it’s nice to know that there are still good people out there.”

Source: ABC News