A 10-year-old boy discovered a diamond wedding ring in a Costco parking lot during a Saturday morning shopping trip with his dad — and what happened next warmed the hearts of everyone involved.
Kal Blank, who says he “has an eye for things that are shiny,” told local St. Louis outlet KSDK that he noticed a glimmering object in the lot and was immediately struck by its weight. “I was like, ‘Why is this so heavy?’ I put it in my pocket, and my pocket was like — whoa — just hanging down,” he recalled.
He later showed the ring to his mom, Dr. Kelli Blank. “He drops this ring in my hand, and my hand about hits the floor,” she said. “This is a beautiful ring, and someone is missing this terribly.”
The owner, Mae Pratzel, was devastated when she realized it had slipped off her finger. She had recently lost some weight after surgery, and the ring came off while she was returning her cart at the Costco in Manchester, Missouri.
The ring’s center stone was the original diamond from her engagement ring, a gift from her husband, Alan Pratzel, more than 50 years ago, and had been reset multiple times over the decades. “It was one of the most awful feelings,” Mae said. “We kept saying, ‘It’s a thing, it’s a ring.’ But it was more than that.”
Kal’s mother contacted Costco and discovered that someone had reported a missing ring matching the one her son had found. But before returning it, Kal did something unexpected and heartfelt: he polished the ring, placed it in a special box his mom had brought back from Ireland, and wrote a note to Mae.
“I kind of wanted to keep it ’cause it was pretty and shiny,” he wrote, before adding, “I hope you relax now that you have your ring back.”
Mae later drove from Springfield, Missouri, to the Manchester store to be reunited with her cherished ring. She then called Kal and his parents to thank them — and discovered some surprising connections between their families. One of Mae’s grandchildren attends school with Kal’s sister, Josephine, and Kal’s father, Shane Blank, who works as an assistant U.S. attorney, had professional ties with Mae’s husband, Alan, a retired lawyer.
The Pratzels insisted on visiting the Blanks to thank Kal in person. Mae approached the boy, put her arms on his shoulders, and said, “You don’t know how special you are to me!” She then told his parents, “He is an extremely special kid, and you guys have to be so proud.”
Alan told KSDK that Kal’s thoughtful gesture “just restores your faith in humanity.”
Kelli said Kal has always been a collector of treasures, from coins and rocks to trinkets. But he was more than happy to make an exception for Mae, returning her ring just in time for a milestone: the Pratzels’ 50th wedding anniversary in December.
