Lost bracelet found in Myrtle Beach, uncovers cherished love story involving fallen New Jersey police officer

CALABASH, NC (WWAY) — A calabash diver is labeling his latest find his greatest find. 

Many would look at it and call it just a bracelet but after the diver returned it to its owner it was clear it meant much more. 

John Connor is a Metal Detection Specialist. He’s been recovering lost items for years but says finding this bracelet at a water park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina tops all other discoveries. 

“That bracelet was under water for 3 years, 3 and a half years actually and I felt like I was meant to find it,” Connor said. 

The bracelet memorialized Gary Walker, a Bloomingdale, New Jersey police officer who died from COVID-19 in 2020. 

John decided to ship the bracelet back to New Jersey. Days later, he received a letter from the current Bloomingdale Police Chief and a call from the owner of the bracelet. It was the fallen officer’s wife. She wore the bracelet during a memorial bike ride honoring her husband. 

“It was her first year participating in something like that and as she finished, she wore that bracelet, that was her personal bracelet. It was like talking to a relative, ya know, it was just very comforting for two complete strangers just to have a down to earth conversation,” Connor said. 

WWAY spoke with the wife, Danielle Walker, and got a glimpse of who Gary was. She said he was more than her husband; he was her best friend. 

“When he was home or in the room, it was just, I don’t know, it just comes over you like that’s my half, that’s part of me,” Walker said. 

Walker recalled when she lost the sentimental bracelet during a trip to Myrtle Beach. 

“I was so upset because I saw it fall off and I tried to reach down and grab it before it went any further and I couldn’t grab it and I was like heart broken, I was like, oh, God,” Walker said. 

She said if it wasn’t for John Connor, she isn’t sure she would have ever seen the bracelet again. 

“I said, well, maybe it’ll return to me one day. I hoped. When I got the call from the police chief in blooming dale now, I was just so, so happy. I was like, It’s back home! It’s home. I got it back. It’s just a bracelet but to me, it’s the first year of honoring him,” Walker said. 

Walker said she’s going to continue keeping her husband’s memory alive and honoring him through the Police Unity Tour bike ride. 

“He was a good daddy, he was a great husband, he was a good friend, he was just; we miss him very much,” Walker said. 

Connor said this discovery gives him the motivation to continue recovering lost items and returning them to their rightful owners.