SAN ANTONIO — A UTSA professor is less than a month away from getting married.
This past weekend, everything was ready to go for the big day -- until she lost her engagement ring.
Now, Dr. Jasmine Harris is on a frantic search to find it. She's not alone, though. Thousands of strangers on Twitter are joining in.
"I honestly feel like a shell of a person without it. I wake up in tears," Harris told KENS 5 Friday via Zoom.
Harris got engaged nine months ago. Her fiancé and high school sweetheart, Michael Bent, proposed the day the couple moved from Philadelphia to San Antonio.
She says Bent customized the ring with a pear-shaped diamond and a winding ivy design for the open band.
Harris can't help but admire its beauty. But Sunday after brunch, when she took a moment to admire the ring, it wasn't on her hand.
"It wasn't there," said Harris. "My heart sank because I couldn't remember taking it off."
Harris believes the ring could be in downtown San Antonio at the St. Anthony Hotel. She says it was the only place she went Sunday.
"We went to brunch at Rebelle."
Hotel and valet employees helped her search the hotel and restaurant inside and out.
Harris says she's still tearing her own house apart, room by room.
So far, no luck.
"My fiancé was like, 'Maybe it's in the house somewhere'. My gut tells me that that's not true," said Harris. "One of the jewelers did say that it maybe slipped off because it wasn't so loose that it would normally fall off, but it was loose enough that it would sort of turn around on my finger."
Sunday afternoon, Harris took to social media and tweeted photos of the lost ring.
In a matter of hours, her tweet went viral with more than 10,000 retweets by strangers eager to help. Some shared her photos on Nextdoor and social media, others gave advice on other avenues to find the ring. A woman even offered to make Harris an identical engagement ring.
"I didn't expect that to happen. I honestly believe it's in-part because the ring is so beautiful and it's so different," said Harris. "For me, it's not even the value. It's something that is irreplaceable...I love it beyond its materiality. I love it for what it symbolizes."
Harris filed a police report. Her ring is also part of a national registry, serial number included.
"So if anyone tries to sell it or tries to pawn it, they will come across the police report," she explained.
The couple is set to elope April 22.
"I'm supposed to be getting married in a month," she said. "Now I may have to do that without my engagement ring."
The St. Anthony is gifting the couple a free night stay at the hotel for their wedding: A room with a park view.
If you find the ring, Dr. Harris says you can tweet her at @DrHarrisJay, text her at 952-380-8742 or reach her via e-mail at jasmine.harris@utsa.edu.