$1K reward offered for stolen Houston Astros ring
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A former Houston Astros executive is offering a reward if you can help Houston police find his 2005 National League Championship ring.
Larry Stokes, the former VP of Human Resources for the Astros, will pay $1,000 to get the ring back. He posted photos of the ring and the reward offer on the website, stolen911.com.
Stokes was moving into his new Maplewood South home, near S. Braeswood, on May 21 when someone broke into the trunk of his car that night and stole a safe with the ring inside. His birth certificate and passports, which were also inside the safe, were found the next day under a bridge but the ring has not been found.
"It's not so much for me, it really is for my family. It's something that the moment I received the ring, I thought about my kids and thinking about passing this on to them and so forth," he explained.
Back in 2005, a 5-1 four-hitter gave the 'Stros their first, and to date only, pennant. Astros Owner, Drayton McLane distributed the rings to team members and staff. The 10K gold ring holds 40 diamonds to honor the 40th anniversary of the team's history that same year. The ring also has his name "Stokes" on the side. The ring looks exactly like the rings the players received.
"I never hit a home run, never pitched a ball or anything like that, but I was part of an organization and you work in that environment, you do feel much like a family and it's something we all share," Stokes said.
Stokes said he is doing everything he can to track down his ring.
"I'm constantly on the Internet looking. I've gone to some pawnshops in the neighborhood, in this area and just walked around and looked."
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Marc Hinch, the creator of stolen911.com is optimistic the ring will be recovered.
"Since 2007, Stolen 911 has assisted in the recovery of thousands of dollars of stolen property, including jewelry, art work, musical instruments, vehicles and more," Hinch said. "Hopefully this ring doesn't get broken up for the diamonds."
Hinch said his website has had some success recovering stolen engraved rings. If you know where the ring is located, contact the Houston Police Department.
