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Marty McQuiston needs your help.

The Ninilchik resident recently lost a ring that was a cherished possession and she's hoping she can get it back with a little help from the community.

"I've searched everywhere and can't find it. Every time I think about it being gone I cry. It's heartbreaking," she said in regard to the ring lost July 28, possibly around the Ninilchik Post Office or the Rod-N-Real parking lot.

The ring was a childhood gift from her now deceased parents.

"My parents were poor, but hard-working. They were raising 12 children, so it was hard for them to give us much," she said.

However, when McQuiston was 17 years old, her parents saved up and gave her, and each of her six sisters, a ring with their birthstones.

"Coming from a family of 12, getting any gifts of any kind was a wonderful treasure. In fact, it was the only gift my parents ever gave me," she said.

The ring had a gold band with an amber-colored topaz jewel.

"I always treasured it and promised my parents that I would always wear it and take good care of it. I was able to keep that promise for the last 40 years. I never took it off because I knew that the day I did would be the day I lost it," she said.

That's exactly what happened, when McQuiston took the ring off as a result of an insect bite.

"I'm very allergic, and my hands were itching from mosquito bites. My neighbor offered me some hand cream to ease the itch. I pulled my ring off to put the cream on," she said.

McQuiston put the ring in her pocket to keep it safe, then finished her errands.

"We stopped at the post office and at Rod-N-Real. I hadn't paid attention to the fact that I also put my keys in the same pocket. Well, not realizing that, when I pulled out my keys from my pocket, my ring must have gotten caught somehow and I ended up losing it. As least that's what I think happened to it, because I've searched everywhere," she said.

McQuiston is hoping someone may find the ring, or has already found it, but may not have known to whom it belonged until now.

"Please, if you, or anyone you know, might have found my ring, will you please return it to me. I will forever be so thankful to God and to you," she said.

The ring can be dropped off at the Ninilchik Post Office or McQuiston can be contacted at 907-567-7343 or 907-252-2430.

Joseph Robertia can be reached at joseph.robertia@peninsulaclarion.com.