TAMPA, Fla — Beads are the main attraction of the City of Tampa's Gasparilla pirate invasion.
With the parade right around the corner, more and more people are stocking up on beads. Including Sonya Hanks bought a pack on Sunday from Sunshine Thrift Store's Tampa location.
But as she began to sort through the pack, she found something unexpected inside.
"I'm untangling the beads and sorting them out, I found this locket that was intertwined in the beads," Hanks said.
Hanks lives in South Tampa and is a teacher at Coleman Middle School. She says she was getting them ready to give out to her students throughout the week when she made the discovery.
"I was puzzled at first and then as I started untangling it, I saw the chain and saw the necklace and it was of course snapped shut. When I opened it, it shocked me! It was shocking that there was an actual family in there," Hanks said.
She saw a photo with a family of four and knew she needed to find them.
"I'm thinking that possibly, somebody was on a float, and they were throwing the beads and as they threw the beads, maybe this came off," Hanks said.
Every year the staff at Sunshine Thrift Store packs up the donated beads and distributes them to their three stores in Tampa, St. Pete and Bradenton. That means the family could be anywhere in Tampa Bay.
"It's got to be sentimental to somebody. I'm gonna hang on to it till we find whoever this belongs to," Hanks said.
Hanks shared the story with 10 Tampa Bay with the hope someone would recognize the family of four's faces. She's looking to get it back to its rightful owner.
"That would be heartwarming. It would mean a lot to me that we found the people that had this and I'd love to see them have it," Hanks said.
If you think you know who the locket belongs to, reach out to us! We'd love to hear from you.