CLARKSON VALLEY, Mo. (AP) – Bernie and Carla Squitieri have two very valuable rings back, against almost incomprehensible odds.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1PevqbJ ) reports that Carla took off the rings while washing dishes at their St. Louis County home on March 13 and put them on a paper towel to dry. Bernie later tossed the paper towel in the trash.

The couple realized the mistake Monday and ran to the trash can – only to realize that the garbage truck had already collected. The rings, valued at nearly $500,000, were gone. By the time they reached Meridian Waste Service, the haulers had collected from hundreds of other homes.

Yet somehow, digging through tons of trash at a disposal site, Meridian operations manager Joe Evans found the rings.