East Bay couple get engagement ring back after flushing it down toilet

A betrothed woman in Alamo who accidentally flushed her wedding ring down their toilet on Saturday got it back, thanks to the help of her neighbors.

The woman, Haleigh Morrissey, had asked her fiancé, Dean Booras, to help her remove her engagement ring after she put on sun tan lotion. After getting it off, they placed it in some tissue and apparently forgot they left it there.

A little while later, Morrissey returned to the bathroom, and absent-mindedly threw the tissue in the toilet and flushed. Booras saw her shortly thereafter, and described to KTVU that the look on her face terrified him.

"It (was) literally one of the most horrifying things in my entire life," he said. "I mean my first thought was, 'Oh my God, somebody has passed away.'"

The couple called their neighbor, Ken Gunari, who rallied his sons and other neighbors — none of whom had previous plumbing experience — to help them get the ring back, despite not knowing whether or not the ring was even retrievable.

A betrothed woman in Alamo who accidentally flushed her wedding ring down their toilet on Saturday got it back, thanks to the help of her neighbors. A betrothed woman in Alamo who accidentally flushed her wedding ring down their toilet on Saturday got it back, thanks to the help of her neighbors. Photo: KTVU Photo: KTVU Image 1 of / 112 Caption Close East Bay couple get engagement ring back after flushing it down toilet 1 / 112 Back to Gallery

With a rented, camera-equipped plumber snake, the gang discovered the pipe was full of roots — good news here, because it meant those might have caught the ring before it would have passed into the central sewer.

They figured their best shot at getting the ring was to get to the pipe closest to the sewer main and drain it. Using another rented tool, a pipe locater, they found that spot, dug to reach it, and then cut a hole in it. They then covered the hole with a mesh filter and flushed water through it.

When they pulled the filter off, they started going through the material it caught.

Luke, one of Ken's sons, ended up being the one who spotted it.

"They didn't know I had it in my hand," he told KTVU. "(I) just walked up slowly with my hand open ... and they looked down at it and they just started screaming."

Booras and Morrissey will be married in May.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

