Thirty years after discovering it, a Colorado woman is seeking the owner of a bracelet found on a West Hawaii beach.
In the early 1990s, Patrice Schell visited the Big Island with her then-husband, who was attending a work conference. At a beach on the leeward side of the island, her husband found on a rock an ornate gold bracelet, inlaid with jade, coral and onyx, and bearing a personalized inscription — three initials and a date.
As the couple were the only people at the beach, Schell said her husband took the bracelet, bringing it with them when they returned to the mainland. But for three decades, the bracelet only collected dust in storage.
“I think he felt, like ‘finders keepers,’” Schell said. “And I guess it is finders keepers. But, in hindsight, putting it in a box in a drawer and ignoring it for 30 years isn’t the way I would have liked to have done things. It always felt like bad karma.”
Schell took a return trip to the Big Island earlier this year with her new husband, and decided to take the bracelet with her in the hopes of finding its rightful owner.
“I’m sure that somebody, somewhere, knows who it belongs to,” Schell said, adding that the personalization on the item indicates that it was important to somebody.
This isn’t the first time Schell has tried to uncover the bracelet’s past. She said that roughly 10 years ago, she attempted to place an ad in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser regarding the item but never heard any results.
Schell acknowledged that, after 30 years, finding the previous owner may be unlikely. Compounding the matter is the fact that she doesn’t remember precisely where the bracelet was found.
“I couldn’t even tell you where we were at the time,” Schell said. “It’s all changed so much since then. It was completely deserted back then, but now there’s no beach on the Kona side where there isn’t a crowd of people.”
But Schell still has hope. She theorized that the style and personalization of the bracelet suggests that it might belong to a Hawaii resident, and not a tourist.
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” Schell said. “I’ll say all kinds of incantations that somebody claims it. If worse comes to worst, maybe you can donate it to a charity.”
Before returning to Colorado this year, Schell left the bracelet in the care of the Tribune-Herald.
Should the bracelet’s rightful owner wish to claim it, they should send an email to mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com with the word “bracelet” in the subject line, and a correct description of the initials and date inscribed on the item. Also, please include a phone mumber.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.