Note: we are republishing this story in light of recent reports that suggest more and more people all across the country are experiencing random acts of kindness even amid the challenges of the pandemic.
An Oregon girl has returned a silver heart-shaped locket to its rightful owner, who had received the necklace shortly after her father passed away.
Journey Roldan, 6, was having a swim at Blue Park Lake with her mother, Winter Roldan, when she noticed something silver, multiple sources reported. She yanked it and realized it was a heart-shaped locket.
“I saw a silver thing and I picked it up,” Journey told KPTV.
The necklace was a bit tarnished, but a special engraving on it made the locket appear as though it had sentimental value. The engraved message read, “Roo, with u always, Daddy.”
“That’s what made me think it was special,” Winter said.
The words resonated with Winter, who immediately made it her mission to find whoever "Roo" was. She posted a photo of the heart-shaped locket on a Facebook community lost and found page, along with a description of where it was found.
It only took 20 minutes for Winter to get a response on the Facebook post. She received a phone call from a woman named Aimee Price.
Price told Winter she had given the locket to her daughter, Morgyn, after her father passed away unexpectedly. She said Morgyn's father would lovingly call her "Roo," and that the locket contained some of his ashes.
Price wanted a way for Morgyn's father to always be with her, so she bought her the locket. But Morgyn lost the necklace at the lake about two years prior to Journey finding it.
“I just saw the hand holding a black heart [in the post] and I knew it was hers,” Price told the news station, holding back tears.
“It was emotional," Price recalled of the time her daughter lost the locket after it accidentally slipped off her neck. "[It was] like he died again, and I think that was the hard thing for me and her, it just felt like we were going through it again, we were going through the grieving again.”
But thanks to Journey, Morgyn has a piece of her father back.
“It was sad that they lost it two years ago, so I’m glad I found it for them,” Journey said.
Morgyn currently lives in the Seattle area and has since given birth to her first baby.
“I’m excited,” added Price. “I’m excited to give it to her and put it back on.”