An Alabama woman who spent last week at the Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain is offering a $2,000 reward for the return of her treasured wedding rings that she somehow misplaced during her visit.
Erin Ward, of Thorsby, Alabama, told the staff at the luxury resort that she may have left the jewelry on the bathroom counter of her hotel room on the day she checked out. The missing items include her diamond wedding ring, a diamond engagement band and a ruby anniversary band.
A photograph of the missing jewelry shows Ward wore the rings together as a triad.
The Pine Mountain Police Department was called in to investigate but so far have been unable to locate the missing valuables.
The Lodge is a country-styled getaway, set amid 6,000 acres of natural pine forest and picturesque landscapes, where guests unwind in first-class suites with private balconies, and enjoy amenities that include a courtyard, hot tubs, spa, a cabana-style bar, relaxing swimming pool, and a nearby golf course.
Ward was at the resort with family before checking out at 11 a.m. this past Monday, according to the LeGrange Daily News. She then returned home to Alabama, but it was 5 p.m. before she realized she didn’t have her rings. She and her husband immediately got back on the highway and made the more than two-hour drive back to Georgia.
But by that time Ward said hotel staff told her they had not seen nor heard anything about the missing rings.
“When we got back to the hotel, we were told that housekeeping had gone home for the day, that their lost and found was already loked up and that they would take our name and they would call us,” she said, according to the Daily News.
Ward came back to the hotel Thursday, and the lodge allowed her to enter the room again to search for the rings, but they were nowhere to be found.
Still hopeful, Ward said she passed out and posted several flyers at the resort offering a $2,000 reward.
A Pine Mountain Police Department officer also checked a national database that tracks pawned jewelry, but were unable to find a match.
“If someone pawns and item or sells it to a pawn shop, [the database” basically checks it, Officer Christopher Nance told the Daily News. “The pawn stores and the scrap metal stores have to keep a record of that, and they are supposed to hold [items of jewelry] for 30 days.”
Ward also visited several jewelry stores in Pine Mountain but also came up empty.
Ward is asking anyone with information to call (205) 299-8170 or email erinhw07@gmail.com.
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