Three Italian ‘hobbits’ flew to Ireland to return this man’s ring — and it was precious
Irishman Patrick Mohr thought his wedding ring was lost forever after it slipped off his finger into a fast-moving river in Italy. That is until three Italian strangers made it their mission to find it.
The unlikely quest, a testament to the power of kindness, forged an extraordinary friendship
Catherine Zhu · CBC Radio
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As It Happens6:51Three Italian ‘hobbits’ flew to Ireland to return this man’s ring — and it was precious
On vacation in Italy this summer, Patrick Mohr was enjoying a carefree time in a beautiful mountain stream, catching his children as they leapt from a boulder, and then one of them grabbed his hand.
In an instant, Mohr’s gold wedding ring slipped off and disappeared in the fast-moving water.
“I just stood there a little bit paralyzed with instant knowledge it's gone,” Mohr, who is from Ireland, told As It Happens guest host Dave Seglins. “I didn't see much hope in it.”
Mohr, who has been married to his wife for 16 years, says the loss went far beyond the value of the 18-carat gold. The ring carried years of memories and sentimental meaning, making its sudden disappearance all the more devastating.
'It's not about the gold ring, it's about the sentimental value of what it means,' said Mohr. (Submitted by Patrick Mohr)
His wife, meanwhile, wasn't ready to give up.
She approached the only other people at the river — three Italian men — and asked if they had any swimming goggles she could borrow to search for the ring.
They didn’t.
Dejected and “a bit grumpy,” Mohr says he was consumed by disappointment and had little appetite for talking to strangers.
Still, his wife remained hopeful. She asked the other men if they would help search for the ring and exchanged phone numbers with them in case it turned up.
Filippo Palagi, one of the three friends, along with Nicola Malloggi and Edoardo Poggi, says they weren't particularly optimistic. Like Mohr, they assumed the ring was gone for good.
But hoping to lift Mohr’s spirits, the three men conjured up a legend of their own: they would find the golden ring and return it to its rightful owner in a Lord of the Rings-style quest — an epic journey that, they joked, would take more than a thousand years.
An epic journey commences
Eager to pull off the seemingly impossible, Palagi told As It Happens the three friends threw themselves into the search, first looking for the ring from a kayak.
After two days without success, they decided to change their approach. They used ropes to anchor themselves to boulders and dived into the water wearing scuba masks, eventually focusing their efforts on a stretch of rapids where the current was particularly strong.
Then, in what Palagi described as an "unbelievable" moment, Malloggi spotted a glint of light on the riverbed. Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed the gleaming object.
Against all odds, it was the ring.
The friends could hardly believe it.
The gold wedding ring was recovered after a difficult search. (Submitted by Patrick Mohr)
Nine days after losing his wedding band, Mohr was still vacationing in Tuscany and preparing dinner when a text arrived from an unfamiliar Italian number.
Attached was a photograph of the ring, accompanied by a message that read: “Hi Sméagol, look what we found” — a reference to a character in The Lord of the Rings.
“I put the phone back in my pocket and kept stirring the pasta pot in shock,” said Mohr. “My wife looked at my expression on my face and asked me what happened.”
When he showed his wife and daughters the message, disbelief quickly turned to elation, and “chaos ensued.”
“It’s such an improbable story,” he said. “The guys most certainly didn’t have to look for us, and when they found it, they wanted to get in touch with me to tell me.”
From strangers to friends
To mark the unlikely turn of events, the three friends suggested that instead of returning it in Italy, they would return it in the quest-like fashion they embarked on their search: they would travel to Ireland.
And they decided to stay in character, casting themselves as three of the legendary hobbits: Frodo, Merry and Sam.
Not only did Mohr agree, but he welcomed them into his home.
“They approached me, all three dressed like hobbits, playing music from the Lord of the Rings to hand me back the ring,” Mohr said. “We made friends that evening.”
Mohr had planned a day of activities for the Italian hobbits, taking them to Glendalough, a famous lake and monastic site dating back more than 1,000 years, and the neighbouring valley of Glenmalure.
The three Italian friends were treated to a traditional Irish meal with Mohr and his family. (Submitted by Patrick Mohr)
They also stopped at his local pub for a pint of Guinness before heading back to his home to meet his family over a traditional Irish meal.
Palagi is amazed that a chance encounter has turned into an extraordinary friendship.
“Before that, we never knew each other, [but] now, we have a family in Ireland,” he said.
And Mohr said he’s gained a new belief in human kindness.
“Sometimes you have to let go of control, sometimes you have to put things out into the universe and ask for help,” he said “And sometimes, you get an answer.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catherine Zhu is a writer and associate producer for CBC Radio. Her reporting interests include arts and culture, science and social justice. She holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of British Columbia. You can reach her at catherine.zhu@cbc.ca.
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