Treasure hunter finds Olympian’s missing ring on the beach in Huntington

A metal detector’s unlikely find on the shores of Huntington Beach helped an Olympic gold medalist locate his lost commemorative ring Wednesday.

Leon Jones of Buena Park found the Olympic ring earlier this week during one of his usual outings using his metal detector to scan for unique discoveries.

Jones, who records all his treasure hunts with his GoPro camera and goes by the nickname “Doctor Rings & Things,” saw that the ring is engraved with the name of John Landsteiner, part of the U.S. curling team that made history in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea when it earned the United States’ first curling gold medal.

Jones contacted Landsteiner, who lives in Duluth, Minn., via FaceTime on Wednesday to notify him of the good news.

“It means a lot to me,” Landsteiner said. “Tears were shed the night it disappeared.”

John Landsteiner lost his Olympic ring during a recent visit to Huntington Beach, but he’ll get it back after a treasure hunter found it this week.

(John Sciulli / Getty Images)

Landsteiner was recently in California for the ESPY Awards. During his trip, he visited Huntington Beach, where he lost the ring.

The Olympian told KTLA that he had given up hope and was looking into buying a replacement ring.

Jones said he wants to return the ring in person. He told Landsteiner he wants the honor of touching the hands of an Olympian who brought home a gold medal.

Landsteiner said he plans to use his travel miles to return to California and retrieve the ring from Jones. He also plans to bring his gold medal.