BELFAST — Belfast Police are hoping for a Christmas miracle after a customer at the local McDonald’s dropped an irreplaceable diamond engagement ring November 7.

The ring went missing after owner Donna Coleman and her fiance made a midway pitstop while traveling from their home in Gilford, New Hampshire, to Bar Harbor.

Coleman said she had taken two rings off to use hand lotion while the duo traveled east, ultimately stopping in Belfast for a bathroom break. It was in the restroom that Coleman realized she wasn’t wearing her rings, though she said at first she just figured she’d left them in the car.

It wasn’t until she got back to the vehicle, roughly three minutes later, that Coleman realized only one of the two rings was there, sitting on the side of the front passenger seat. The other, her engagement ring, was nowhere to be found.

“My fiance was in a panic because only one of the two rings were there,” she said.

The two immediately began a search of the parking lot, a task they continued for the next hour, though the ring was never located.

“A million people talked to us that day because they could see I was absolutely frantic,” she said.

Coleman’s fiance thinks it’s possible that the ring got stuck in the treads of someone’s tires, meaning the ring could have been unknowingly carried out of the area.

Initially, she hoped it had simply disappeared somewhere beneath her seat, but after having her mechanic remove the seat to search, Coleman said the ring is definitely not in the car.

The ring was reported to Belfast Police the same day it disappeared and has recently been shared on the department’s Facebook page.

A “substantial” reward is being offered for the return of the ring, with no questions asked. The reward is larger than anything someone would get from a pawn store, according to Coleman.

“I just want it back. We all know there are pawn shops that aren’t reputable; I was basically trying to inspire that if you’re trying to get money for this ring, try and get it from me,” she said of the reward.

The ring contains a diamond given to Coleman’s fiance from an old family friend, who passed away just one week before the ring went missing. It is also set in a band designed especially for Coleman.

Until the ring is back on her finger, she said that she’ll continue her efforts to locate it.

“I just have to feel like I’m doing something to get it back, it’s the only way I can sleep at night.”

If anyone has information about the missing ring they can reach out to Coleman directly at 603-455-9014 or at dlcoleman28@gmail.com

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com