SAMMAMISH, Wash. — A Sammamish family celebrated a newborn this holiday season but lost an important symbol of their marriage along the way. Now, the family feels their prayers have been answered after a little hard work and a lot of help from the sun.
Finding a needle in a haystack is the real-life metaphor Hesen Peng of Sammamish used to describe the last week of his life.
Only his problem was finding a treasured wedding ring in a weather phenomenon known as needle ice.
The snowfall made for a beautiful holiday break but the fresh blanket of powder snow complicated a search Peng wasn’t prepared for.
He was sorting through some recycling on the side of his home when his wedding ring slipped off of his cold fingers and vanished into the white blanket.
“There was no trace! Not even a little dent in the snow or anything," said Peng.
Peng says the anxiety increased by the hour and he wasn’t sure how to explain the situation to his wife who is caring for their newborn child.
“I did pray really, really hard since I was getting desperate to find the ring. I was even fearing my marriage was at risk," Peng said.
In a modern move, Peng turned to the internet and posted about the dilemma on his community's page on the Nextdoor app.
“Many neighbors told me to get a metal detector but I couldn’t get delivery for weeks. Eventually, I connected with a neighbor who was willing to loan me a metal detector and we set a time to meet up the next morning," Peng said.
They never met because more snow came and Peng was trapped at home. Some instinct kicked in and Pend decided that he didn’t want to risk a bird finding the ring and carrying it off.
Peng shoveled around 60 pounds of snow into his massive recycling bin.
“I shoveled all of the area and put it in the bin so at least I know it’s safe from animals and would hopefully just eventually melt," said Peng.
The melt was days away as frigid temperatures made things icy.
Unique ice attracted Peng and he spent some time researching what’s known as “needle ice.” It's ice that forms when the temperature of the soil is above freezing and the temperature of the air is below freezing.
Peng began documenting and sharing the discovery on Nextdoor and admitted that as the days went by he began to lose faith that he would ever find the ring.
Sunny skies provided a twist in the story as Peng went out to check on his fast-melting needle ice. It occurred to him to check on the recycling bin full of snow and was astonished to see much had melted. Sitting atop the icy mess was his wedding right adorned with a new sparkle.
“It even had an ice diamond on it," Peng wrote on Nextdoor along with a photo of the ice-encased ring.
Over 1,100 neighbors reacted to Peng which meant a lot to him because his family moved in during the pandemic and have yet to even meet their neighbors.