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Bryant detective locates, returns woman's lost ring |
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Monday, 14 July 2008 |
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Haley Reep Wagnon of Benton has been heartbroken since Tuesday when she lost her $9,000 engagement ring on the Bryant Wal-mart Supercenter parking lot.  Haley Reep Wagnon is all smiles Friday as Bryant police Detective Todd Crowson returns her engagement ring at the Bryant Wal-Mart Supercenter pharmacy, where Wagnon works. Wagnon lost the ring in the Wal-Mart parking lot Tuesday and after some detective work, Crowson found a girl in Bryant who had picked up the ring.
Wagnon was able to place her 1.26-karat diamond back on her finger Friday.
“I can’t believe I got it back,” an emotional Wagnon said. “I am just so happy. I just don’t know what else to say. This just makes my day.”
Wagnon told Bryant police on Tuesday that just before 9 a.m., she was getting ready to go to work at the Wal-Mart pharmacy when she stopped to put lotion on her hands.
“I was in my car and I took off my engagement ring and wedding band and put them in my lap,” she said.
“Someone then called my cell phone and I guess I forgot about the rings in my lap. When I got out, the rings must of fallen on the parking lot.”
Wagnon said she received her engagement ring when her husband, Kyle Wagnon of Benton, proposed to her on May 29, 2007. The two married about a year later on June 7.
A month later, the princess-cut diamond ring was missing and to matters worse, it happened on her husband’s birthday, Haley Wagnon said.
After going into work and realizing she had dropped her rings, Wagnon and co-workers searched the parking lot. They found only the wedding band and Wagnon called the Bryant police to make a report.
Crowson reviewed the store’s video surveillance tapes to help identify the ring’s finder — a 6-year-old girl who said she had no idea the stone was real.
“I saw a little girl pick up the ring in the parking lot, but I don’t think the girl was trying to steal the ring and I don’t think the family with her was even aware,” Crowson explained. “She probably didn’t even know that it is a real ring.”
The video gave detailed time frames and even the cash register where the family purchased items. Unfortunately, however, the family used a Wal-Mart gift card. Crowson said if they had used a credit card, they could have easily tracked the people.
The girl and her parents got into what Crowson said was a 2008 white Nissan Titan pickup parked next to Wagnon’s vehicle. The vehicle also had a distinguishing feature — a sun roof. Crowson said he was unable to get the license plate number, but said he began calling dealerships.
“I soon found that there was only one vehicle sold in Saline County that matched that truck’s description,” Crowson said. “The guy’s name was actually registered in Little Rock, but I found out that he moved to an apartment complex in Bryant.”
Crowson said he went to the apartment of Michael Wheaton but was unable to find him. He then talked with the apartment manager and was able to get a cell phone number.
“I went back to the station and called Mr. Wheaton,” Crowson said. “He was unsure what was going on at first, but agreed to come down to the station to see if he knew the people in a still shot I grabbed from the video surveillance.”
Wheaton, 35, said he was unsure of the situation when he got a call from the police but agreed to go to the station.
“I got a call about a young lady losing a ring and a little girl picking it up and I said, ‘OK, you’ve got my attention,’” Wheaton said. “I came down to the station and when he showed me the picture, I said, ‘That’s my brother from Chicago and his kids.’”
Wheaton said he then called his brother, who learned that his 6-year-old daughter, Jackie, had picked up the ring. The brother said no one thought the diamond was real because of the size of the stone, and he also learned that Jackie had given the ring to his 12-year-old daughter, Destiny.
“I then called my daughter and asked her about the ring,” Wheaton said. “She thought she was in trouble at first, but after telling her she wasn’t, she told me that it was in a bag in the back of the truck.”
Crowson and Wheaton then searched through the back of the truck and found the ring undamaged.
“I couldn’t believe it, especially when I saw the size of the diamond,” Wheaton said. “It had been in my truck for three days. If Detective [Crowson] wouldn’t have called me, who knows what would have happened to it. It could have ended up in my daughter’s dresser or something.”
Crowson said he was relieved when he saw the ring in Wheaton’s truck and called Wagnon to spread the good news.
“I was just as excited as [Wagnon] was,” Crowson said. “When this report first came to me, I thought we had no chance of getting it back.”
Crowson then took the ring to Wagnon at the pharmacy, where she met him with an emotional greeting.
Both Wagnon and Wheaton told the Courier that they would like to speak to each other.
“I told my daughter that she had done a really good thing by giving it back and she wants to meet [Wagnon],” Wheaton said.
“This is a one-in-a-million thing that happened and it makes me and my daughter feel really good that we made [Wagnon] happy. I am sure she was sick for days over losing that ring, and I am glad we helped change that.”
Crowson said he also talked to other members of the Wagnon family and they all expressed happiness.
“Her mother-in-law who has been staying in contact with me over the days just started crying,” Crowson said.
“I had to ask her several times if she was OK. She was just so happy and overcome. Haley [Wagnon] was extremely happy, and I was happy for her. The whole family is happy, and I am glad I was a part of that.” |
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