June 18 (UPI) -- Workers from the Pittsburgh International Airport's maintenance department spent hours searching for -- and eventually finding -- a diamond that fell from a traveler's ring on the baggage carousel.
April Schmitt returned to Pittsburgh from a business trip to Los Angeles on Friday, and discovered the fabled bad luck of Friday the 13th was with her when she reached to get her suitcase from the baggage carousel.
"As I went to retrieve my bag from the carousel, my hand got stuck between the suitcase and the edge of the carousel. It pinched my hand, so I pulled my hand back really quickly," she told KDKA-TV.
Schmitt realized on her drive home that the diamond was missing from the engagement ring her husband had given her in 1992.
She rushed back to the airport and started searching for the gem, and she was soon joined by stationary engineer Tom Riordan, electrician Steve Turkaly and two other members of the airport's maintenance staff.
Schmitt ended up leaving empty-handed after about 90 minutes, but the employees continued to search, and even removed panels from the carousel to search inside.
She received a call about four hours later with good news: the diamond had been found.
"Two paint sticks taped together, scraping dirt from underneath the carousel, that's how they actually found it," Riordan said.
Schmitt rushed back to the airport to retrieve the diamond.
"It restored my faith in humanity, honestly," she said. "These men didn't know me at all. They knew nothing about how long I've been married. They knew nothing about my husband or the stone or the sentimental value or the economic value, but that didn't matter; they were just committed to doing the right thing."
The incident was not the first time Pittsburgh International Airport workers found a traveler's lost diamond. Kristen Tunno was preparing to leave the airport in 2023 when she realized the diamond was missing from a ring recently given to her by her 99-year-old grandmother.
April Laukaitis, a customer service worker at the airport, located the diamond on the floor of a bathroom.
