Long Island woman digs through dump to find missing wedding rings

WEST BABYLON , N.Y., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A Long Island woman dug through piles of trash at a local dump to find her wedding rings after she accidentally threw them out.

Colleen Dyckman spent hours searching her town's garbage dump when she realized she mistakenly threw her engagement ring and wedding band in the trash, according to CNN.

"I knew in an instant I threw them out, because I knew I had cleaned the night before," Dyckman told CBS New York.

Dyckman followed her local garbage truck to the Babylon town dump where she frantically searched for the $5,000 rings.

"She was visibly upset, she was ripping through garbage, disgusting stuff," Jeremy Aretakis of the Babylon Recycling Center said. "She didn't stop, so none of us stopped."

Dyckman, Aretakis and fellow employee Kim Weathers searched for the ring for about four hours until Weathers finally discovered the two rings.

"I said, 'I'm just doing to double check,' and I double checked and opened one up and wow — the ring," she said.

Dyckman expressed her gratitude by hugging Weathers and thanked her and Aretakis for their time and kindness by presenting them boxes of pizza and brownies.

"I wanted to give up, but they never did," Dyckman said. "It's like my faith in humanity is restored."