New Jersey

Diamonds in the Rough: Garbagemen Find Woman's Lost Rings in NJ Landfill

β€œIt was very overwhelming and at the end, I was happy because I did a good deed for somebody that was looking for something valuable,”

NBC Universal, Inc.

A New Jersey woman is beyond grateful to a group of garbagemen who found her lost wedding and engagement rings in a local landfill after digging in the massive pile of trash for more than an hour.

Ruth Watson-Utley of Vineland was in a panic Friday morning when she realized her rings had been put in the trash and hauled away. 

β€œI mean, you can’t replace it,” Watson-Utley said. 

Watson-Utley told NBC10 her 10-year-old son accidentally threw away her wallet containing the rings. The wallet, at the time, was inside a grocery bag with some other belongings. 

β€œI immediately called the trash company,” Watson-Utley said. 

Word quickly spread to crews from the Atlantic County Utilities Authority. 

β€œI was like, β€˜Alright. We got to go to the dump. Dump it,’” Jovani Quiles, a member of the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, told NBC10. 

For an hour and a half, Quiles, Ramon Nazario, Paul Deola and Alfredo Perez dug through about ten tons of trash at a New Jersey landfill. Finally, they found Watson-Utley’s precious rings. 

β€œIt was very overwhelming and at the end, I was happy because I did a good deed for somebody that was looking for something valuable,” Quiles said. 

The crew told NBC10 if Watson-Utley hadn’t notified them so quickly, the outcome could have been different. 

β€œIt would have been buried already so it would have been impossible for us to find it,” Nazario said. 

Watson-Utley said she tried to tip the group multiple times but they wouldn’t take the money. 

β€œIf it was one of our wives, I would want somebody else to help as well,” Quiles said. 

Watson-Utley told NBC10 she now has a new level of respect for garbage collectors after the group went above and beyond to find her diamonds in the rough. 

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