PANAMA CITY BEACH - Matthew Canipe said his wife used to chide him when she saw him without his wedding ring on.
But it was no laughing matter when Canipe lost the band in the Gulf of Mexico while digging for seashells with his family Sunday.
"I started digging in the sand, and I just couldn't find it," Canipe said.
Canipe said he and his wife, Krystal, and two children searched the water for the diamond-laced, 24-carat white gold band for hours to no avail. A nearby family noticed the effort and helped, but nothing turned up.
"I thought, ‘That's it; it's gone,'" said Canipe, who feared the lost ring was a bad omen for a marriage he and his wife were trying save.
In 2007, the couple separated after nine years of marriage. Canipe said he and his wife were miserable apart and decided to renew their marriage this spring, complete with new vows and bands.
"I couldn't help but think, ‘Is this symbolic? Does this mean something?'" Canipe recalled thinking after he lost the ring.
Before leaving the beach Sunday, Canipe said he used a landmark to remember his location. The following day, he descended on the beach with a deep-fryer dipper and began sifting sand in 3-foot-deep gulf water.
Canipe said he searched for about 90 minutes before he noticed something glitter in the sand in the dipper. It was the ring.
"I cried when I found it," said Canipe, who immediately phoned his wife. She didn't believe him at first.
Canipe said the ring is valued at about $550, but both he and his wife said the ring means much more.
"I was upset when he lost it," Krystal Canipe said. "It's not just a wedding ring; it's a token of our affection and love."
