A San Diego woman was reunited with several precious pieces of jewelry, weeks after a young boy found them in a South Park canyon.
Thomas Hoffman talked with NBC 7 after he and another boy found jewelry Feb. 13, while exploring in South Park.
The boys gave the jewelry to Thomas' mom, who put the find on NextDoor.com and reached out to us, for help finding the owner.
Joan Andrews saw our story and immediately recognized the jewelry, stolen from her home on February 12.
"He's so generous at heart to bring all of these treasures back to me after a devastating robbery," Andrews said.
Andrews got most of her jewelry back, except for one very special thing - her grandmother's ring. She's pleading for its return. No questions asked.
Hoffman said he couldn't imagine keeping it.
"If you find anything that belongs to another person, try to find who it belongs to because it might be something super special to them,” Hoffman said.
A San Diego woman will be reunited with several precious pieces of jewelry this week, weeks after a young boy found the items in a South Park canyon in mid-February.
“I really felt sick to my stomach,” she told NBC 7 San Diego.
That feeling is long gone now that she knows her possessions have been found.
Andrew, a nurse at UC San Diego Medical Center, first saw the jewelry in a story NBC 7 San Diego posted on their website, showing a young boy had found the pieces and was searching for the owner.
It was Thomas Hoffman, 13, who serendipitously found Andrew’s valuables: her grandmother’s antique white-and-gold diamond engagement ring, and a gift given to her by one of her patients. Many of the pieces stolen are valuable to her, she said.
“This is the heart that goes on the necklace Thomas found the day he was doing the story,” Andrew said, showing a missing piece of a necklace left behind.
When Hoffman found the jewelry, he turned it in to police.
“Number one I don't use jewelry...if someone stole something from me, I would want it back, too,” he said.
This week, Andrews will get the chance to meet Thomas and say thank you. The detective working on the case will help reunite the two.
Andrews said she’s overwhelmed with joy of finding the missing jewelry.
“I can't describe how much that meant to me,” she said.
Photo Credit: NBC 7