Karen Sharp

Karen Sharp

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Man Proposes After Finding Ring in Burned Home Rubble

Hands of couple with engagement ring

Photo: Flashpop / DigitalVision / Getty Images

ALTADENA, Calif. -- Like many other families who lost their homes in the catastrophic wildfires that swept through Los Angeles, Brian McShea and Stephanie Raynor of Altadena have been combing through the remains of their property.

The couple had just settled into their new home a year ago, but on January 7, they were evacuated as the flames approached.

"I'm taking Altadena Drive and heading out, and I see Eaton Canyon at 6:20 or 6:30, and I'm like, 'Oh my God. There's a fire,'" recalled McShea. "The next day I woke up from an email from our landlord saying the house is completely gone."

Aside from their pets, they lost everything in the fire.

"As soon as we walked up, it really hit us," said Raynor.

For McShea, that loss also included the engagement ring he had recently bought. He had been planning to propose to Raynor in the near future, but the ring was destroyed in the fire, tucked away in the back of his desk drawer.

"I was thinking, 'Well, maybe the stone can survive and maybe we'll find the little stone.' I thought the ring was going to completely disintegrate," said McShea.

As they sifted through the debris, he made sure to focus on one particular spot.

"I was like, 'We're going to look over here where my desk is,'" said McShea. "I did not tell her why. I don't know what [she] thought we were looking for because it was pretty obvious that a lot of my stuff was gone. So we're digging around where my desk is ... again, just looking for a stone man. I really didn't have a lot of hope, but you just brush away some rubble and there's a little ring, and you pick that up and it's actually a washer to something, and that happened like four times, and then you pick it up, and there's a little diamond. I was on my knees and I was like, 'Hey, will you marry me.'"
"And I was crying," said Raynor.

The couple hasn't finalized a wedding date yet, but they are certain they want to remain in Altadena.

Source: ABC 7


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