Engagement Ring Drops 118 Feet, Ski Resort Employee Saves The Day
Boyne Mountain, known for being one of Michigan's most popular ski resorts, is celebrating one of its employees following a heroic effort that saved a newly-engaged couple's big day.
Trevor Van Camp planned a surprise weekend getaway to Boyne Mountain with his girlfriend Danielle Jenkins. Jenkins had shown Van Camp a TikTok of Boyne Mountain's SkyBridge Michigan, a suspension bridge that spans the ski area's two peaks, and Van Camp figured it would be the perfect place to drop a knee and pop the big question.
As Van Camp went to remove the ring from the box (she said yes!), it slipped and plunged more than 100 feet to the snow-covered ground below.
"We panicked for a minute and then said, we need to find it," Van Camp recalled.
The couple spent hours searching the snow using metal detectors borrowed from Pat Harper, Boyne Mountain's night shift snowmaking supervisor, but to no avail. The couple gave up around 10 p.m., but Harper was determined. He went back out with a metal detector and began searching alone, in the cold.
"Within 30 minutes, his metal detector picked up a signal," writes Boyne Mountain. "He began digging through the snow, as he had done several times already that evening, but didn’t see anything. Then he pulled up a handful of snow, and there it was - the edge of the ring. He sat there amazed; he had done it."
The entire story, including the moment that Van Camp dropped the ring, is told in the following video provided by Boyne Mountain.
Tap or click to watch. Keep reading for more.
Watch: Engagement Ring Found In Snow, Boyne Mountain, Michigan
Video courtesy of Trevor Van Camp and Boyne Mountain Resort
"I give big props and kudos to Pat for doing that for us, because he saved the day, he really did," Jenkins said. "It was an experience that we now have; a story to tell of our engagement.”
The couple plans to return to Boyne Mountain to finish their walk across the SkyBridge with the engagement ring firmly secured around Jenkins's finger.
Boyne Mountain's SkyBridge Michigan opened in 2022. It claims to be the world's "longest timber-towered suspension bridge". It spans nearly 1,200 feet and is suspended 118 feet above the ground. It is open year-round.