A Friday the 13th Mishap
April Schmitt’s business trip to Los Angeles ended with an unlucky surprise. As she reached for her suitcase at Pittsburgh International Airport’s baggage carousel on Friday, June 13, her hand got pinched between the bag and the metal edge. She jerked her hand back—only to realize later that the sharp movement had dislodged the diamond from her engagement ring, a precious gift from her husband in 1992.
“I didn’t notice it was gone until I was already driving home,” Schmitt told KDKA-TV. Panicked, she turned around and rushed back to the airport, hoping against odds that the tiny gem might still be recoverable.
A Team Effort to Save the Day
What followed was a painstaking search involving Schmitt and four airport maintenance workers: stationary engineer Tom Riordan, electrician Steve Turkaly, and two others. For 90 minutes, they combed the baggage claim area, even removing carousel panels to check underneath. Schmitt eventually left empty-handed, but the crew refused to give up.
Four hours later, their persistence paid off. Using two paint sticks taped together to scrape through accumulated dirt beneath the carousel, Riordan spotted the diamond glinting in the light. A quick call brought Schmitt racing back to the airport, where she was reunited with her treasured stone.
“It restored my faith in humanity,” she said. “These men didn’t know me at all… but they were just committed to doing the right thing.”
Not the First Diamond Rescue at Pittsburgh Airport
This isn’t the first time Pittsburgh International Airport staff have come to the rescue of a lost jewel. In 2023, passenger Kristen Tunno realized the diamond had fallen out of a ring gifted by her 99-year-old grandmother. Customer service worker April Laukaitis found it on a bathroom floor, proving that small acts of kindness—and sharp eyes—make all the difference.
Why Stories Like This Matter
In an era where air travel is often synonymous with stress and frustration, these incidents highlight the human side of airport operations. Behind the scenes, employees like Riordan and Turkaly go beyond their job descriptions to help strangers in moments of distress.
