“Happy To Return It”: Pretoria Gent Finds Valuable Ring in Park and Looks for Owner

• A Pretoria man found what appears to be a diamond engagement ring in a park and immediately went public, asking for the rightful owner to come forward
• Some people raised the possibility that the ring may have been stolen during a robbery in the area
• Many praised the man for his honesty and integrity, saying his actions restored their faith in humanity
• Briefly News reached out to the gentleman who found the ring, Danny, asking him what went through his mind when he discovered it and why he chose to try to return it to the rightful owner

A Pretoria man who spends his free time metal detecting in parks had South Africa talking after sharing photos of a stunning ring he found on 28 April 2026. The man who usually shares his metal detecting finds online, posted three photos of the ring with the message on the Facebook page @Delta Park - Johannesburg:

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"Found while metal detecting in the park. Happy to return it to the rightful owner. Please get in touch with proof of ownership."

The ring Danny found is no ordinary piece of jewellery. From the photos he shared, it appears to be an engagement band. The ring has three diamonds across the top with smaller diamonds set into the band itself on either side. He shared a top view, a side view and an angled view of the ring.

Danny didn't reveal exactly where he was when he came across the find, but the post was shared in the Delta Park community group in Johannesburg. He hasn't confirmed whether the stones are genuine diamonds or not, but the design and detail of the ring suggest it carries value, both financially and sentimentally.

Danny spoke to Briefly News writer Nerissa Naidoo, explaining his experience and what motivated his decision. He said:

“Finding exotic jewellery, rare relics and coins is a great day for any serious metal detectorist, so whenever I'm lucky enough to stumble on beautiful trinkets like this, the excitement is fantastic. At first, you wonder if you've found junk, or ‘the one that's going to make me rich’, but the value in seeing people's faces and reactions when you return something sentimental to them is priceless.”

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Danny went on to share more about his finds, saying:

“This is just a hobby for me and I don't ask for finders fees nor do I ask people to pay anything to get their goodies back, but I must say it would be pretty cool if I could make a decent income from offering the service to everyone. But right now it's all purely the joy of finding what we find. I’ve also found things like silver rings in parks, a Boer War era ring, and old coins like a 1854 British penny and an 1859 sixpence, which were probably brought here around the time of the Voortrekkers.”

View the Facebook photos here.

Joburg community reacts to Danny's ring find

People were moved by Danny's honesty on the Facebook page:

@EstelleDeBruynCheyne wrote:

"Nothing restores my faith in humanity as honesty does."

@DaleJooste said:

"Definite faith in humanity restored, bravo, sir. Life would be so much easier if more people behaved with ethics and morals like this."

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@JulieHall wrote:

"Distinctive patterning. That must be very precious to someone. I wonder if it may have dropped after a house robbery."

@DebbieHooper said:

"Possibly from a stolen stash rather than someone losing it on a park walk. Well done, Danny, I hope it gets back to its owner!"

@CatherineMackinnon added:

"I wonder if that's not the ring that was forced off a couple walking along the top dam at knife point. They were devastated."

@LindaParrish suggested:

"Danny, can you share in the Craighall, Blairgowrie and Victory Park pages?"

@RosNightingale wrote:

"Maybe do a Google search for someone who lost a ring. You'll make someone very happy if you find the owner."

@ChrisvanLatum wrote:

"Good man, Danny!"

More lost items being returned

• Briefly News recently reported on a surprise raid at Pollsmoor Prison that turned up items nobody expected to find behind bars.
• A taxi driver and police officer were praised after going out of their way to return a full bag of valuables left behind by a passenger.
• A young woman took to Facebook to thank a stranger who returned her lost laptop with every single item still inside.

Source: Briefly News