A Dogwood first-grade teacher’s sad situation turned serendipitous when smart thinking by one kindergarten student protected the woman’s lost treasure.

The fact is, the kindergartner wouldn’t have been able to return Sabrina Mink’s lost valuables if not for the little girl’s smart thinking, recognition of its importance and a treasure hunt by other young students.

Mink, and her family ventured to Dogwood Park on Saturday, March 4. With a hotter-than-normal sun bearing down, she decided sunscreen was a necessity for her daughter. To avoid getting the goop on her jewelry, Mink had her husband hold onto her engagement and wedding rings

For safe-keeping. 

It was hardly safe. And the keeping proved unfounded.

Germantown Pharmacy aims for hometown feel in new spot

“I told myself I wasn’t going to forget them, but I did,” Mink said.

Later that night, she finally remembered to ask her husband for the rings. He reached in his shirt pocket only to discover a hole. The bands apparently slipped through the ragged opening at some unknown point.

Mink was devastated.

The two Germantown natives were engaged in 2015. Her husband lived out of state at the time, came to town and proposed one weekend. The two married in 2016.

“As with all engagement rings and wedding rings, they have sentimental value,” Mink said of the lost bands. “We were upset but kept reminding ourselves we were lucky we were healthy. This was not ideal, but we tried to encourage ourselves.”

Calkins: The sad and sweet story of the last greyhound race at Southland

Her mother stayed with her daughter as Mink, her husband and three others rushed back to the park shining flashlights Saturday night. They found the wedding band in the parking lot right near where he had put it in his pocket. In the dark, they were unable to find the engagement ring. A return trip on Sunday proved fruitless. Mink posted about the situation on Facebook, and friends joined the search.

“I never lost hope because of the hours spent and so many people looking for it,” she said.

This past Monday, Mink sent an email to the Dogwood Elementary staff explaining her plight and asking fellow teachers to keep an eye out for the lost engagement ring.

One teacher even went to the park with a metal detector, but the ring was nowhere to be seen.

Later that day, Ann Wallace, a Dogwood kindergarten teacher, took advantage of the nice weather and suggested a treasure hunt for her students during recess. Scarlett Arnold, a kindergarten student, asked what they were looking for and Wallace told her it was a ring.

Scarlett knew the ring’s exact location. It seems that on Saturday, Scarlett visited the park with her family soon after the Minks left. The little girl saw the ring glittering in the rocks. She knew it was important and decided to bury it for safekeeping.

Calkins: They didn’t grow up in Memphis. They sure made it better.

“It was in the spot we were looking just underground,” Mink said of where Scarlett first saw the ring. “She took Mrs. Wallace right to the spot and dug it up.”

At first, Wallace didn’t believe the girl knew about the ring. But when she uncovered it and showed her teacher, Wallace was ecstatic for her friend and ran inside. 

“My choices that led to the ring being lost, and her finding it, it’s just wild,” Mink said.

Calkins: Will Drennan died a hero. His friends want everyone to know.

Scarlett will receive some Skittles for her astute action. Mink sought out Scarlett and told her it was responsible to bury the ring. Mink has thanked the child each time she passed Scarlett in the Dogwood halls this week.

“You never know what would have happened had it not been underground,” she told Scarlett. “ I told her how grateful I was and how responsible it was to keep it safe, and I thanked her for realizing it was important and (a) treasure.

“It’s a wild story, the innocence of a child thinking it being buried treasure and remembering where it was. It’s all very sweet and funny.”