While getting ready to take the field during a charity softball game to benefit cancer research on Saturday, Holly Kusek did something she rarely does; she took off her prized engagement ring.

"She took it off and placed it in a friend's purse so that she wouldn't lose it during the game," said Dan Larzazs, her fiancé. Within an hour, the game in Palmer ended and Kusek went to retrieve her ring, Larzazs said, but it wasn't in the bag.

The couple - joined by a search party that included the opposing team - scavenged the Palmer High School softball field for the ring but to no avail. It was missing.

Since Saturday, the Ware couple has returned everyday to scan the spot. "My fiancée has been going over every detail, trying to retrace every step she took that day," Larzazs said. "We believe someone stole it."

Valued at $13,000 the three-stone engagement ring has a large amount of monetary value, but the couple says the ring is worth more than money, that the ring is irreplaceable.

In March 2010, Larzazs' mother passed away after a long fight against cancer. 14 months later, Kusek's mother also died from the disease.

During the summer of 2012, Larzazs asked Kusek's father for permission for two things. "I asked her father for her hand in marriage and I also asked if I could have the ring he proposed to her mother with."

Using the diamonds from both his and her mothers' engagement rings - in addition to a diamond he purchased to set between the two - he created an engagement ring to connect their past and future together.

On Aug. 14, 2012, Larzazs took his then-girlfriend out to dinner at The Whistling Swan, a restaurant that was once located where Avellino is now in Sturbridge. "The owner allowed us to have our own room with all the tables lit with candles," Larzazs said. "The staff helped me plan a big proposal. She had no idea before I asked her."

Since then, Kusek hardly took the ring off. Now, she hasn't worn it in four days.

In the hopes of someone returning the ring, Larzazs is offering a $1,000 reward - money taken from savings set aside for their wedding this fall - for the return of the ring.

Though worth a large amount, Larzazs said the ring wasn't insured. "It seems stupid now but I never thought about something happening to it."

He added, "It's a nice ring, but it's worth so much more than money. I'm not sure what someone could get at a pawn shop for it, but I hope they return it instead."

On Sunday, June 8, Larzazs invites all interested to join him in a search at the Palmer High School softball field at 11 a.m. All are welcome, especially those with access to a metal detector.