Trash Man Digs For Woman’s Lost Wedding Ring In Garbage Truck

Garbage man Gary Gaddist is being called the “Lord of the Ring” after rooting through trash bags to find a lost wedding ring brought to his attention by a desperate note.

The unassuming and hardworking Parks Department employee is just a regular guy who picks up trash five days a week, but to Danielle Hatherley Carroll, he’s a hero. On Monday morning, she realized that she had lost her wedding ring after spending Sunday in Manhattan’s Battery Park. She went back and searched for the ring to no avail. Giving up, she left a note on a nearby garbage truck, hoping that the ring might be found by one of the garbage men the following day.

Interestingly, the band was a 10th anniversary ring, bought for her by her husband to replace one that she had already lost before.

“I didn’t want my husband to get upset with me, so I was going to sneak out and find a police officer to help me look,” she said. “But he awoke and said, ‘You’re out of your mind. I’m coming along to help you.’ ”

The note, which began, “Hello, I believe my wedding ring is in this truck,” and was pinned onto the garbage truck’s windshield.

This is where Gary Gaddist comes in. “I found this note and it was great, just so honest,” the 42-year-old Brooklyn dad said. “So I called and she explained everything, about how she lost the ring, and how she couldn’t sleep after realizing it was gone.”

So Gaddist took it upon himself to find the ring, and though he likened the search to finding a needle in a haystack, it actually didn’t take him long to find it. He called Carroll with the good news.

“I was ecstatic, I started to cry,” she said. “I hopped in a cab and raced down to meet him.”

Asked why he’d do so much for a complete stranger, Gaddist humbly replied, “it was a love thing.”

“She sounded like a nice person, and I could tell she and her husband love each other,” he said. “I’m glad I could help.”

You can check out pictures and video at NY Daily.