From North Yorkshire in England comes a delightful story of a missing ring. Officers in the township announced on Facebook this week that they were looking for the owner of a "distinctive silver ring" that they recovered after a home burglary. Officers attempted to find the rightful owner, but alas, they could not.

　　Given how precious the ring is, detective constable Pete Wilson and the police department announced they were looking to the public for help.

　　"As it is such a distinctive piece of jewellery, we're hoping that someone will recognise the markings and be able to tell us who it rightfully belongs to, as I'm sure someone, somewhere is missing it," Wilson said (via BT).

　　The comments in the Facebook thread poured in quickly--and delightfully. People immediately recognized what the authorities did not: This was clearly a replica of The One Ring from J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy series, and not merely a "distinctive silver ring."

　　Here are some of my favorite responses:

　　"...And the Ring of Power perceived its time had now come. It abandoned Gollum. But something happened then the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A Police Officer, from the North of the (York)Shire." [Source]

　　"That truly is a precious ring. Sadly, I wouldn’t translate that. It’s in the black tongue of Mordor and isn’t very nice. Best off throwing it into a river or mountain volcano or something. If unclaimed can I challenge you guys to riddles for it? I have a buyer with their EYE on it." [Source]

　　"There are other forces at work in this world besides North Yorkshire. Maybe You were meant to find it..." [Source]

　　The North Yorkshire police are taking it all in stride. The authorities replied in the thread, "We obviously need to brush up on our movie knowledge!"

　　Playful and silly comments aside, the authorities persisted in trying to find the owner, and they might have--the ring's rightful owner has reportedly been found.

　　In other Lord of the Rings news, Amazon has announced the cast of its big-budget and highly anticipated Lord of the Rings TV show. Additionally, we've learned more about the new Gollum video game and the upcoming Lord of the Rings MMO.