Eureka, California resident Allison Berry accidentally flushed her $78,000 engagement ring down the toilet of a Phoenix, Arizona diner – but a skilled plumber managed to retrieve it. The engagement ring fiasco began in the restroom of Phoenix’s Black Bear Diner, where Berry and her fiance were eating out. As Berry flushed the toilet in the restroom, the diamond engagement ring slipped off her finger and was whisked away by the water.
Berry and her fiance first called a plumber (who told them it was a lost cause) and then contacted the city of Phoenix. City workers opened up a pipe outside of the restaurant, and then flushed the toilet repeatedly, hoping that the engagement ring would be forced out. But the diamond ring was stuck.
The city workers then called Mr. Rooter in nearby Tempe, Arizona. Mike Roberts, general manager of Mr. Rooter, searched the pipes with an infrared video camera that was attached to a long rod.
After several hours, Roberts found the diamond ring – several feet down the pipes. It then took the Mr. Rooter team an hour and a half to retrieve the diamond engagement ring.
All in all, the whole procedure took eight hours and cost more than $6,000. But apparently, Berry and her fiance thought it was worth it: they left each Mr. Rooter technician a $400 tip.
