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By TOM O’DONNELL Courier staff writerA lost ring that cost Ottumwa police $1,800 — and a lot of grief — was found last week. And now police are hoping to get their money back.But the ring’s owner, who hasn’t seen the ring since it was stolen in June 1982, said he wants to make sure it’s his ring and that it hasn’t been damaged before he gets out his checkbook.The item in question is a gold men’s ring, with six diamonds in a circle surrounding another diamond. Its owner — until the city paid a claim covering the ring’s loss — was Harry Pierson of 414 Pine St.Pierson reported two rings stolen nearly two years ago. One was eventually found in a pawn shop. The other turned up on the hand of a neighbor who was later convicted of second-degree theft.After the matter was settled, Pierson went to the police station last summer to pick up his ring. It had been lost, police said. They speculated it had been knocked from a shelf in theevidence vault into another box that was returned or destroyed.Police Chief Phil Gates said Monday, though, that detective Galen Davis found the ring last Thursday night when he was moving some files into new detectives quarters in the basement of City Hall. The ring, Gates said, was still in an evidence envelope and stuck in a file.But the find came too late to save the city some money. Pierson filed a claim for the ring, and the City Council last fall agreed to pay Pierson $1,800 for the ring The money came out of the police budget.Now, Gates said, “We’ll try to make a trade for it... He can have it for what we paid him for it.”Pierson told The Courier today, however, that he wants to see the ring and make sure it is his and hasn’t been tampered with.”He added that he “thought it was kind of strange that it kind of miraculously turned up. I really don't know what to think of it. I’m interested in getting it back.”
Newspaper Details
Ottumwa Courier
Ottumwa, Iowa, US
Tue, Feb 28, 1984
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 18 Sep 2021
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