Woman finds wedding ring inside Instant Pot on Christmas, helps find owner

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (KCPQ/FOX 13) - It was an unexpected holiday surprise for a Washington state woman when she opened up her Instant Pot on Christmas, only to discover a wedding ring inside.

Instead of keeping it, she decided to find its owner.

“I pulled the bottom packaging material out and there was a wedding ring in the bottom of it. And it wasn’t just like an engagement ring, it was like an actual wedding band and ring and they'd been soldered together and you could tell it'd been someone's for a long time,” Avery said.

She called the company where the Instant Pot was purchased and got a service ticket, but she couldn't just sit and wait.

So she posted about it in the Facebook group for Port Orchard, Washington residents.

“I could only imagine if that was me," Avery said. "I mean it's sad, it's somebody’s possession, somebody's treasured possession... especially being a wedding ring, so I wanted to make sure it got back to the owner."

About 12 hours later, notifications started rolling in.

“We were checking out Instant Pots and they had some on display. But I wanted to see the smaller ones but they didn’t have those out. So we had to open a box,” explained Joann Johnson. 

A few months ago, Johnson had been shopping for an Instant Pot and, during the shopping trip, she lost her wedding ring. It was just days before her 20th anniversary.

“I had posted in the Port Orchard Facebook page, just a wild shot in the dark, if anybody happens to see a diamond [or] pick up a diamond band at Walmart, please turn it in to customer service... And, of course, didn't get any responses other than, 'Gee, hope you find it,'” Johnson said.

But then, a Christmas miracle; on Christmas day, Johnson says she scrolled upon Avery’s Facebook post.

“[I] read this in big letters with a big picture of an Instant Pot and it said, 'I found a ring,' and immediately it was like an electrical shock going through me. OK, I lost my ring by Instant Pots. Someone just found a ring in an Instant Pot box,” Johnson said.

Avery had Johnson draw a picture of the ring to make sure she was the rightful owner.

Now, Johnson calls Avery her Christmas angel.

"It’s been fun, making a new friend and it’s been nice having a good ending to it," Avery said.