PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Pinellas County Public Works engineer, who manages a hurricane debris dump site, says a treasure was found that he wants to return to its owner.

It’s a small black box with a ring and a note inside.

The site is located on East Lake Road and Keystone Road.

It’s hard to believe anyone can find anything of value there, but that rind was uncovered in a large pile of Hurricane Helene debris.

Joe Kovach is an engineering inspector with Pinellas County Public Works. He oversees debris collection at a north county site. He said a contractor found the black box in the debris heap.

“Somehow, some way, he looked down,” Kovach said. “It was right at his feet, and he picked it up and saw the little note in there with the ring.”

The note reads: “I was 18 when my parents gave it to me.”

The black box contains a note inside of it, along with the ring, which reads: "I was 18 when my parents gave it to me." (Spectrum News/Josh Rojas)

The actual ring will not be shown, because Kovach wants the owner to describe it before he hands it over.

“I feel like something like this wasn’t meant to be thrown in a pile like that,” he said.

Kovach said the Helene and Milton piles are coming from unincorporated residents who live in the north county area, so he has a general idea of where the owner lives.

“It could have been from Ozona, Palm Harbor — you know, in those areas,” Kovach said. “That’s what I’m thinking. No way to tell, to be honest with you.”

Kovach is hoping something good can come from the piles of destruction he works around. He’s now on a mission to return the ring to its rightful owner.

“Just trying to do something positive out of obviously something that’s affected all of our communities,” he said.

If you know who that black box belongs to, send a direct message to the Pinellas County Facebook page.