For some, the dreaded Friday the 13th is a day to forgo big decisions and stay safely at home. For April Schmitt, the date now carries an unforgettable twist — one marked by heartbreak, hope and a restored faith in humanity.
After a grueling 17-day work stint in Los Angeles, Schmitt finally returned to Pittsburgh on Friday, June 13. Her journey home had already been riddled with delays and missed connections, but the real trouble began at baggage carousel B at Pittsburgh International Airport.
“As I went to retrieve my bag from the carousel, my hand got stuck between the suitcase and the edge of the carousel,” she told CBS News Pittsburgh. “It pinched my hand, so I pulled it back quickly.”
She walked away in a daze, but halfway home, a sickening realization hit: her engagement ring’s 1.25-carat center diamond — a stone she's cherished for 33 years — was gone.
“I looked down and my ring was without a diamond. It was devastating,” said Schmitt. “I literally felt sick to my stomach.”
She raced back to the airport and began scanning the floor in desperation. Soon, four members of the airport’s maintenance crew joined the search. Electrician Steve Turkaly and stationary engineer Tom Riordan led the charge, navigating what Riordan called “a labyrinth of steel.” For 90 minutes, they crawled over, under, and even inside the carousel, but the diamond remained hidden.
Schmitt went home empty-handed — again.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Despite the day’s hectic flight schedule, the maintenance team refused to give up. After four more hours of meticulous searching — including scraping under the conveyor with two paint sticks taped together — they hit paydirt. Literally.
They found the diamond.
Schmitt was stunned. “My jaw dropped. I was ecstatic. I couldn’t get to the airport quickly enough,” she told CBS News Pittsburgh.
The ring not only carries profound sentimental weight, it's also remarkably tied to the date that so many fear. Her husband proposed on Friday, March 13, 1992, and they wed later that year, on Friday, November 13, 1992. Losing the stone on another Friday the 13th seemed cruel. Finding it? Nothing short of miraculous.
“It restored my faith in humanity,” she said. “These men didn’t know anything about me, but they were committed to doing the right thing.”
See CBS Pittsburgh's three-minute report here…
Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com / CBS Pittsburgh.