'It would mean everything': Widow hopeful missing wedding band turns up

Shawn Sangster's gold and diamond band matched the one that belonged to his wife.

But after his tragic death, that ring is missing.

Now, his widow Natalie Brenson-Sangster is hopeful the shiny symbol of their love will eventually turn up.

Natalie and her husband said their "I dos" during the first year of the pandemic on Sept. 12, 2020 —  the same day they celebrated Natalie's parents' 56th wedding anniversary.

"We had to change our church plans, and the big hall dance and all that," said Natalie.

"We ended up having a beautiful ceremony with just our family and very close friends outside our house, and celebrating my mom and dad at the same time, so it was a wonderful day." 

Natalie and Shawn were born six months apart and had known each other since they were kids growing up in New Harbour, N.S. Natalie was raised in a military family, and moved around a lot, but she considered the small, coastal community to be home.

For her, Shawn was always a friendly, familiar face. 

"Every time we drove in the driveway, he would be right across the yard waiting with that beautiful smile," said Brenson-Sangster. 

"We would head to the beach and spend our days just kind of looking for sea glass and jellyfish and shells.... That was always my kind of anchor, being there and knowing that he'd be there."

The friends went their separate ways as adults and married other people. But nearly a decade ago, they reunited at a dance and it sparked a romance. By that time, both were in their early 40s and single. 

"When we were kids ... my [grandparents] would always say ... 'You and Shawn are going to end up together. And we were kind of like, 'Ew,'" she said.

"It was just kind of like, 'Hey, why didn't we do this sooner?'.... Ever since he was a kid, he hasn't changed. Every day was just a joy knowing that you're going to spend the day with that person."

'I knew he was gone'

Shawn was an electrician for more than 30 years, and most recently worked as a wiring inspector for Nova Scotia Power. On the morning of Jan. 24, he was wearing his wedding ring while getting ready for work at the couple's home in Donahue Lake, N.S.

"He was teasing, you know, doing his regular thing," said Brenson-Sangster. "We usually spoke several times during the day until he got home."

After checking in around 2:30 p.m. local time, Natalie thought it was strange that she hadn't heard from him. A short time later, she got a phone call from someone telling her there had been an accident. 

Shawn had gone into cardiac arrest while driving through Port Hawkesbury, N.S., but he managed to pull his truck off the road.

First responders treated the 53-year-old along the town's busy Reeves Street before taking him away by ambulance. Natalie then called the hospital looking for more details and headed out the door with some friends.

"We didn't know Shawn had a heart condition. I'm actually the one that had the heart condition," she said. "I had a heart attack in 2019, so everything had been kind of focusing on getting me well.

"At [5:30 p.m. AT] the doctor from the hospital called me and told me that he had passed away at four o'clock. And I knew at four o'clock when I was getting ready to get out of the house. I knew he was gone. I just knew it. And it was the worst feeling I've ever had in my life."

Ring was nowhere to be found

Shawn was not wearing his wedding band at the hospital, and it wasn't among his belongings found inside the bag given to his family, such as the Fitbit he wore to track his steps or the nuts and bolts that he had hidden in his pockets.

Natalie asked her husband's medical team to be on the lookout for the missing ring, while the truck he regularly drove was combed through, but nothing was found.

She suspects that Shawn may have taken the ring off during the emergency and placed it on the truck's seat. 

After sharing a message on Facebook about the missing ring, Natalie heard from one of the people who helped Shawn on the road that day.

He said that when they were helping Shawn, some of his belongings were scattered around, but everything was picked up. 

"It's a small thing and in the panic of getting somebody out and trying to save their life — it's a ring — it could have rolled anywhere. It could have flung anywhere," Natalie said. 

It was the only ring Shawn had ever worn throughout his life. Most often, it would be tucked inside the tiny pocket on the front of a pair of jeans that were designed to hold pocket watches.

Natalie said she hasn't been able to go across the Canso Causeway to Port Hawkesbury since her husband's death, but she's hoping the ring might turn up in the spring when all of the snow and ice has melted.

She said the band holds about seven or eight small diamonds, but no distinguishable markings such as an engraving. 

"I've had so many people tell me that they walk by that area every day and that they are continuously looking for this ring," she said.

"And it would mean everything to me if it came back, and I could put it with his urn and his picture, because getting married was so important to us. It was a dream come true for both of us."