Galveston officer goes above and beyond to find woman's lost engagement ring

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman is praising a Galveston officer who found her engagement ring after she lost it at the beach Saturday afternoon.

Jessica Haelen thought her engagement ring was gone forever after she lost it in the sand.

The woman said she left before realizing it was gone, and attempted to return to the beach after dark to look for it.

After hours of searching, and no luck, Haelen was devastated and feared that she lost the ring for good.

Galveston Police Officer Derrick Jaradi spotted the wondering woman, and she told him about her ring and search.

Jaradi told her that he just got engaged that afternoon and wanted to help.

The Galveston officer found a metal detector and started searching for the missing ring.

After a few more hours of no luck, the friends decided to give up, once again.

Haelen was devastated until she received a message from Jaradi at 4:30 a.m. stating that he had found the ring.

Jaradi said he had been called out to a party, and decided to look one last time.

"He went the extra mile and he didn't have to," said Haelen.

The wedding is in seven weeks, and Jaradi received a special invitation to the couple's reception.