BY REVIEWING SURVEILLANCE video, the general services director of a transfer station in Windham, NH, was able to narrow down the location of a garbage bag containing a bridal set that had been accidentally thrown away.
Kevin Butler had mistakenly discarded the rings that his wife of 32 years had just cleaned and wrapped in a white napkin to dry. In the Windham community, residents can opt to have their trash picked up at the curbside or they may deliver the trash directly to the local transfer station.
In Butler’s case, he hand delivered the trash to the station. General Services Director Dennis Senibaldi knew that their surveillance video would provide vital clues as to exactly when and where Butler dropped off his garbage.
“That in itself was amazing,” Butler told The Washington Post. “If we didn’t have that surveillance camera, there’s no way we would have found it. There was so much trash.”
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After viewing the video, Dennis Senibaldi, his crew and Butler spent the next 30 minutes sorting through a trailer that contained 20 tons of very disgusting and smelly garbage.
Specifically, they were looking for a grey-handled white bag that contained particular items that the Butlers has just thrown away — celery stalks and yogurt cups.
Senibaldi described Butler’s demeanor as “a little frantic.”
“I could clearly see in his eyes that he was definitely stressed,” he told The Washington Post. “There’s a lot of meaning in those rings for him and his wife.”
When they finally found the grey-handled bag (with some celery sticks protruding from the side), the team was encouraged. But, as they sorted through the bag’s contents, the mood changed as there were no rings to be found.
“As we were going through the bag that we knew was his, he actually said, ‘It’s not in here.’ And I said, ‘No, there’s a couple little pieces left,’” Senibaldi told WMUR-TV. “I had my rubber gloves on, I moved a few items out of the way and saw literally the very last napkin and I opened it up.”
Tucked inside that napkin were Cindy Butler’s engagement ring and wedding band, precious keepsakes that totaled 2.5 carats in diamonds.
A relieved Kevin Butler jumped to his feet and hugged Senibaldi.
Commenting on his 30 minutes sorting through nasty trash, Butler told WMUR-TV, “Wouldn’t recommend anyone else do it. But, you know, to get the rings back, I would do it a thousand times over.”
Butler and his wife thanked Senibaldi and his crew by hosting a pizza lunch the following weekend.
Check out WMUR-TV’s report below.