A detective discovered a million-dollar diamond ring, returned it to its owner

Joseph Cook was searching the sand at Hammock Beach in St. Augustine, Florida, with his metal detector when he happened upon a beautiful platinum ring with a large diamond stone. He posted a video of the discovery on his social media and couldn't help but wonder.

"Look at this rascal," he commented in amazement at the moment of discovery when he washed the ring and held it in his hand. "This is the biggest diamond I've ever found on the beach," he added. Instead of selling the ring, Joseph, 37, called all the local jewelry stores to see if anyone had a similar ring. One jeweller informed him that the ring with the gemstone was worth around $40,000 - just under one million crowns.

Fourteen days later, someone began calling Cook from an unknown number. He ignored the number for a while, until one day he decided to take the call. The caller announced himself as the owner of the ring from Jacksonville, Florida. Cook subsequently contacted him via video call to determine if the ring actually belonged to that person. "Everybody was really happy. The woman was on the Facetime call and she just said, 'Oh my God, I can't believe it,' and then she started crying," Joseph recounted.

Less than three weeks after the discovery, the ring was in the hands of its rightful owners. Joseph Cook said this is not the first time he has found someone's lost and valuable item, "This year alone, I have returned artifacts worth $60,000," he said. "Karma is always good. Every time I return a find, I find something even better - so I'm happy to return them," the affable detectorist explained with a smile.

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Roman Nemec

Sources: news.yahoo.com, mirror.co.uk