By JOLENE OGLE
IT’S a story that has captured the hearts of people around the world, made international headlines and had over 6000 people on the search to find Joe and Jenny.
It all started when Roxy Walsh of the Gold Coast went snorkelling with her nephew, Blake, at Finns Beach Club in Bali on 7 April.
After being caught in a rip and washed over to rocks, Roxy found a rusted ring sitting on the bottom of the sea. She picked it up, slipped it on her thumb and launched an international search campaign on Facebook.
“I put the post up to Facebook on the Monday and when I woke on Tuesday there had been more than 6000 shares,” she said.
“What followed was complete and utter social media madness.”
Engraved on the inside of the ring was a simple message; “Darling Joe, Happy 70th Birthday 2009, Love Jenny” and on the outside was a family crest, so Roxy set up a Facebook page to “Find Joe and Jenny”.
Roxy said she had messages of support and offers to help from around the world including Russia, Canada, Chile, Brazil and New Zealand, but it was when local girl Jade saw the post that the ring was able to find its way back to “Darling Joe”.
“Joe’s grand-daughter saw the ring on Thursday night (9 April) and messaged me to say ‘I think that’s my pop’s ring’,” Roxy said.
“The minute I spoke to Joe on the phone, I knew it was his. He showed me photos of him wearing the ring, just for proof. But I knew.”
Bridgestone owner and local Joe Langley said he had given up on ever finding the ring his wife had given him that he had lost over nine months ago while swimming at Finns Beach Club, Bali.
“I was swimming in the same spot as Roxy and I was caught in a rip and washed over to rocks,” Joe said.
“It was when I was clawing my way out, the rocks were crumbling, and I lost the ring.”
Joe said he and his wife, Jenny, didn’t realise the ring was missing until the following day and used photos taken the previous day to work out when the ring had been lost.
“I was wearing the ring at breakfast, but not on the beach, so we knew it was lost at the beach,” Joe said.
“We were convinced we would never see it again. My wife had spent six months looking for the ring as a birthday present. She had tracked down an antique jeweller and we knew the ring was circa 1873. Luckily, she had it engraved.”
Joe said he and Jenny are coming to grips with how big the story was, with three stories in leading London newspapers, an interview on the Today Show for Channel 9, plus many more stories in online and print publications.
It’s good news for a change, Joe said about the hysteria surrounding the story.
“It’s so unbelievable that the ring has been on the bottom of the sea for nine months,” Joe said.
“And what’s even more unbelievable is the person who found it is honest and was so determined to find the owners.”
