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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Family reunited with missing charm bracelet

This charm bracelet was claimed by Ray Geraghty after a story ran in the Spokesman-Review. (FILE)

The original owner of the brass bracelet Jenifer Priest purchased nearly 20 years ago has been identified.

After the story ran in The Spokesman-Review on Aug. 22, Priest heard from Liberty Lake resident Ray Geraghty, who said the bracelet was made by his mother, Helen Geraghty, for his grandmother Ethel Thornhill.

It was stolen from Helen Geraghty’s house in the 1970s.

Helen Geraghty had four sons and her brother had two, hence the six old charms with boys’ names and their birth dates.

“I’m just so happy,” Priest said, after meeting with Ray Geraghty.

The two newer charms, also with boys’ names on them, were Ethel Thornhill’s great-grandchildren.

Geraghty said someone saw the bracelet in The Spokesman-Review and noticed two birth dates matching his and a brother’s.

“They called and said to go pick up the paper and I said ‘oh my gosh!’” Geraghty said. Initially he didn’t want to talk to the paper, but he changed his mind and called on Tuesday.

Geraghty said he was “the baby of the family” and very close to his mom and his grandmother – he remembers both of them wearing the bracelet.

“After my grandmother died, my mom was very happy to wear the bracelet,” he said.

Earlier this week, Geraghty gave the bracelet to his daughter Katie Schmeer, the youngest great-granddaughter of Ethel Thornhill.

“She was very happy to get it,” Geraghty said. “This is a very nice thing to have happen.”