Finding $40,000 Ring Might Be the Easy Part

As for how such a pricey ring might have ended up in the mud in a parking lot, he and his father had theories.

The son thought it could have belonged to a woman returning to her car with lots of bags. Maybe she had a child with her.

"There was probably a lot on her mind and she didn't notice until later," he said.

His father imagined more drama. Perhaps it was dropped by a thief suffering a pang of conscience. Or better yet, a woman encountered her fiance at the mall, with another woman.

"They had a confrontation in the parking lot, and he got in the car with the other woman and drove off," he said. "As a parting shot, she threw the ring [in the mud] and said, 'That's where you belong.' " His son doubted that: "That was a valuable ring. No one throws that on the ground."

Bryan Hoton, a security guard at the Tysons store, opted out of drama:

"It was too big," he said, and it just fell off. "Happens all the time."