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Hiker In NH Finds Man's Wedding Ring After Call For Help On Facebook

NORTH ANDOVER (CBS) -- When Bill Giguere of North Andover lost his wedding band on top of a snowy mountain in New Hampshire last Thursday, he turned to Facebook for help. Against all odds, a stranger was able to find his most prized procession.

Giguere's post caught Tom Gately's attention. "As I read the post, my heart had gone out to him because I've lost my wedding ring before and I was going to be on the mountain at the same time," said Gately.

With the help of a metal detector, Gately and his hiking buddy set out on an impossible mission.

"My initial reaction was it's almost 10 miles up and back. To find the ring was going to be a slim to none chance really," he said.

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Tom Gately found another hiker's missing wedding ring on a New Hampshire mountain. (Photo Via Brendan Cheevar Video)

But within minutes of making it to the summit, Gately found the ring. "I was like, "beep, beep, beep, beep, beep," and I just bent over and said, 'I think I got it.' And it was there. I swept the snow aside and there was the ring about under two inches of snow."

Gately said he laughed over how easy to actually locate it. "Really the only word I can use to describe it is absurd."

He quickly contacted the ring's owner and days later, the ringless husband drove nearly 60 miles to Gates's house in Mendon to thank him and retrieve his ring.

"I had it in my pocket coming down the mountain and I was like, 'If I lose this ring. I'm going to feel so bad,'" Gately recalled.

He credits Giguere's directions, fate, and "a good amount of luck" with helping him find the ring.

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