Bride-to-Be's Worst Nightmare Has A Fairy-Tale Ending Thanks To The Quick Work Of Rail Road Staff

By: Kelly York

New York commuter and bride-to-be Brooke Bene knew it was going to one of those days when she stepped into a city subway car, grasped a metal support pole and didn't hear the familiar metal-on-metal "tink" of her engagement ring. The Long Island rush-hour commuter realized at that moment that her pink sapphire and diamond engagement ring had been left behind on a Long Island Rail Road train that she took on the first leg of her commute. Bene, who received her cherished 2-carat pink sapphire and diamond engagement ring just this past April, had removed it and placed it on her lap while applying hand lotion. “When I stood up to leave the train, it must have fallen without me realizing,” Bene said Friday. “It wasn’t until I grasped the hand bar on the No. 2 train out of Atlantic Terminal and didn’t hear the metal of the ring touching the bar that I noticed it was missing; and that’s when the panic set in.” Considering that the Long Island Rail Road is the largest suburban commuter railroad in the country, carrying 272,000 passengers every 24 hours on 718 trains, one might assume that the odds of recovering this ring would be thin. When she arrived at her Wall Street office, Bene quickly contacted the LIRR and was fortunate to be connected with Deana Teemer of the LIRR Operation Center, who researched where Bene's train was headed next and arranged for the crew of the train to search the car where Bene was seated. A creature of habit, Bene sat in the same car and the same seat every day, so the crew knew exactly where to search. In short order, LIRR conductor Tim Parrett found the ring in the space between the seat cushion and the seat back. “I just love them,” Bene said about Teemer and Parrett. “They were incredible. It's amazing how fast the ring was found!” Bene didn't tell her fiancé about the ordeal until she was able to report the happy ending. Have you heard of a similar experience? Any moment when you realized in panic that your ring was gone? Share with us on Facebook. Visit Ben David Jewelers on Facebook Visit BenDavidJewelers.com