'Christmas Miracle', Ring Found In Ocean

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Ring found in ocean: ‘Christmas Miracle’ returns newlywed ring from ocean - A ring found on the ocean floor by a diver might not be a big deal for some, but for 27-year-old newlywed Jay Bradford having his tungsten ring returned to him was a true “Christmas Miracle.” What are the odds that a ring lost at the bottom of the ocean can be found again?

As reported by Fox News on December 26, Jay Bradford’s tungsten ring wasn’t so much about its materialistic value but what it meant to the Point Pleasant, New Jersey, man who had married his college sweetheart on June 19. Meagan gave her new husband the special tungsten ring so that the metal wouldn’t scratch while he worked on tug boats, was cutting bait, filleting fish, untangling fishing lines, and dropping anchors.

When Meagan received a text from Jay telling her that his tungsten ring had fallen to the bottom of the ocean while fishing off the coast of Long Branch on Friday, December 12, she was devastated. “I wasn't worried about the cost of the ring I was more concerned with what it meant and what it symbolized.”

Besides the newlywed couple Jay and Meagan, two other guys understood the meaning of the tungsten ring – Jay Bradford’s longtime friend Capt. Nick Barsa and diver Mark Thompson, who owns Dive and Salvage in Sea Bright. Barsa, who was with Jay when the ring fell off his finger and dropped to the bottom of the ocean, said that "people thought I was crazy to try and go back for it. The odds are against finding it. It's a big ocean out there.”

Four days after Jay’s precious ring had fallen into the ocean, it was miraculously found again. By using his boat’s GPS system and compassionate diver Thompson, the friends returned to the same spot and during 35-mile-per-hour west winds, a big southeast swell, and poor diving visibility, Thompson went in to accomplish the nearly impossible – and found the ring resting 33 feet under water on a rock.

“Thompson's method was to throw metal wash bands in the water to make a trail that would lead him to the lost treasure. He searched over rock ledges and sifted through thousands of mussels with an underwater lamp.”

"When they found it I was ecstatic, I was amazed. I couldn't be more thankful to (Barsa and Thompson) who went out of their way to do this for me. I nicknamed Nick 'Capt. St. Nicholas,' for this time of year because these two did perform a Christmas miracle for us to have that ring back," said Meagan Bradford. Like Meagan, Jay is eternally grateful to his dedicated friends that his “priceless” ring was found again in the ocean.