Eastern Ontario trick-or-treater returns lost ring

Catherine Denis-Berniqué and her daughter Piper returned a ring that Diane Swanson accidentally lost in Piper's Halloween candy. (OPP)

When Catherine Denis-Berniqué and her daughter Piper got home from trick-or-treating in Hawkesbury, Ont. on Halloween night, they found they had collected more than just candy.

The eight-year-old found a ring among her collection of sweets. She initially thought it was a toy, but her parents confirmed it was real.

"I dumped out my candy, and I thought it was like a plastic little ring," Piper said. "Then, I showed it to my mom and she was like, 'Yep, that's real."

Piper says she told her mother that they had to find the owner.

"So, right away our hearts sank," Denis-Berniqué said Thursday. "We wanted to try and find the owner of the ring."

The family reported the found ring to the OPP the next day, police said in a news release on Wednesday. The ring's owner, Diane Swanson, had also called police in hopes that her ring had been found.

Denis-Berniqué works at the Hawkesbury OPP Detachment, and took the call from Swanson.

"I think I may have interrupted her, and I just said, 'Oh, one second, one second; I may have good news."

Police believe that when Swanson put the candy in Piper's bag, her ring slipped off. 

Swanson says the ring has sentimental value – it was a present from her husband 28 years ago.

"What are the chances of a child finding a diamond ring in their bag and turning it in," Swanson said. "It's remarkable! I'm still shaking from it."

Swanson wanted to give a reward to the family for returning the ring, but they said they were just happy to return it. Swanson instead donated $250 to the local food bank.