A Proposal Mishap Turns into a Remarkable Recovery
January 6, 2026
An intended perfect marriage proposal took a dramatic turn, only to be salvaged by an unexpected twist of fate.
Boyne Mountain Resort
Trevor Van Camp orchestrated a secretive weekend retreat to Boyne Mountain, selecting the scenic Skybridge Michigan as the ideal location to propose to his partner, Danielle Jenkins. As Trevor knelt down to propose, the unimaginable occurred.
The engagement ring slipped from his hands, passing through the bridge’s open grating, and plummeting approximately 118 feet into the snow below.
The couple, accompanied by Pat Harper, Boyne Mountain’s night-shift snowmaking supervisor, spent over two hours combing the ski slopes with metal detectors in search of the ring. Impressively, Harper had metal detectors readily available in his car.
Despite their efforts, Trevor and Danielle concluded their search and began to accept their loss. However, Harper remained diligent in his search.
At around 10 p.m., a signal from his metal detector prompted Harper to dig through the snow. Initially finding nothing, he soon spotted the ring’s edge in a handful of snow.
“I kind of sat there for a minute and thought, ‘There’s no way I just found that,’” Harper remarked.
As the couple was preparing to depart from Boyne, they received the much-anticipated news: the ring had been recovered.
“He saved the day — he really did,” Danielle expressed. “It was an experience that we now have a story to tell with our engagement.”
