“I knew from the very beginning, this was the one thing Mari was hoping for,”
Weeks after she started digging in the muck from the mudslide, her hands felt the bag. Burgard started shaking and ran to tell Mitchel.
“The zipper was jammed, so she went and got a knife,” said Mitchel. “As she got the knife, there was a little jiggling sound and we were kinda holding our breath, but I knew.”
Both women were emotional and elated.
“I just happened to be the eyes on it at that moment. But it was found because people are hanging on to glimpses of hope and it’s all that energy working together,” Burgard said.
Mitchel said it is not about the jewelry, but rather the memories it holds.
She also calls the find, a “tiny miracle,” with a big lesson.
“There’s a message that says, ‘Don’t give up. Don’t give up, even if it’s a little thing that feels impossible, don’t give up.'”
Pictures of the jewelry were posted on the Montecito Mudslide Disaster Lost and Found Facebook page. The page is filled with items found from the disaster and people looking to recover lost items. The Facebook group has more than 2,000 members.
Source: KeyT