<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/davidlaura.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/davidlaura.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/davidlaura.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Terry Miller poses with Laura Einstein as she shows off the $20,000 platinum and diamond ring that Miller found buried in the sand on Siesta Key off Sarasota, Florida. (Photo courtesy of Terry Miller) (Photo courtesy of Terry Miller)

At a Glance A Sarasota, Florida, couple lost the platinum, gold and diamond ring on a beach several weeks ago.

Using a metal detector, a hobbyist finds the ring buried three feet deep in wet sand.

The ring is returned to its owners, because "that's what we do," the hobbyist says.

The $20,000 gold, platinum and diamond ring was the big score anyone with a metal detector dreams about.

For Terry Miller, a 71-year-old retired veteran, selling the ring he found this month on a Florida beach could cover a lot of mortgage payments.

Instead, Miller — who got his first metal detector in 2013 — did what he often does with valuable items he locates: He tracked down the owner and returned the treasure he found buried three feet deep in wet sand on Siesta Key off Sarasota, Florida.

"I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I cannot believe it. It's incredible!" says the ring's owner, Laura Einstein, in a video recording of the reunion this week. "And the thing is, you gave it back."

"Well yeah," says Miller, "That's what we do sometimes."

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/thering.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/thering.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/thering.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Terry Miller found the $20,000 platinum and diamond ring with his metal detector on Siesta Key, off Sarasota, Florida. (Photo courtesy of Terry Miller) (Photo courtesy of Terry Miller)

Not realizing it when he found the ring, Miller, who lives in Englewood, Florida, had actually met the ring's owners several weeks ago on Siesta Key.

That morning, Laura and David Einstein had noticed Miller with his metal detector and asked if he could help them find a lost ring. David described it as "just a platinum ring," said Miller, who suspects he didn't want to reveal too much about the ring's worth.

A search of the sand where Laura thought she had lost it turned up nothing. Next, she suggested she could have dropped it in the water. Miller said the wind was whipping up high waves and making the water choppy. He said there was also a rip current that worried him and a red tide that has lingered off Florida's southwest coast since last November.

"I can't go out there now," he told the couple, "but I will keep an eye open for it."

(MORE: No, There Isn't a Brown Tide in Florida )

He also told them to post a notice about the lost ring on ilostmystuff.net, sort of an online bulletin board for hobbyists with metal detectors who volunteer to search for missing items.

"I went back three or four times that week," Miller said. But he had no luck until he walked much further down the beach from where he had been searching. He got a ping and started digging.

"When I found it, I didn't think it was the original ring because the man had said it was just a platinum ring," he said. "I didn't put two and two together."

Miller called out to his friend, Ron Tapley, another metal detectorist who had been searching the beach with him.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/terryron.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/terryron.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/terryron.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Ron Tapley, left, was with Terry Miller on the day Miller found the $20,000 ring. They're showing off some of the 200-plus rings Miller has found with his metal detectors. Miller says if he can match an item to its owner, he always wants to return it. (WWSB-TV)) (WWSB-TV))

"His eyes popped and he started making all kinds of noises," Miller said Thursday from his home. "I thought he might have turned cat for a second."

They took the ring to Miller's truck and cleaned it off more to see what they had. However, Miller wouldn't learn how much the ring was the worth until he had it appraised at Paradise Jewelers.

Miller said that as the jeweler examined the ring, he jotted down an itemized list of the ring's various components and their value. When he totaled the figures, he came up with $19,972.62.

"I brought it home. Showed it to some friends and had a little fun with it," Miller said. "A lot of the girls wanted to keep it." And more than one asked him to propose, he said.

Soon after that, Miller saw a post about a lost platinum ring on the I Lost My Stuff site. He emailed the owners and asked for a photo of the ring. When the photo arrived, it was clear Miller had their ring. He called the number they had provided.

"It only took them 30 minutes to go 32 miles," from their home to his, Miller said.

In the reunion video, David Einstein says, "It restores your faith in humanity." (Attempts to contact the Einsteins on Thursday were unsuccessful.)

Was Miller at least a little sad about turning over the expensive ring?

"I was not at all disappointed," he said. "I was happy."