Beaufort man reunited with prosthetic ear after it washed ashore in Florida

Police in Florida this week were able to reunite a Beaufort man with a treasured possession.

Holmes Beach Police Department said a Facebook post seeking the owner of a prosthetic ear resulted in a call from a Beaufort woman who said the prosthetic belonged to her husband, the Associated Press reported.

The Beaufort couple was vacationing in Tampa, Florida and swimming in the ocean when a wave washed the ear from his hand while he was trying to put it in his pocket, a police spokesman told the AP.

Police posted two photos of the ear on social media in search of its owner on June 18, saying a resident found the object on the beach during the “World’s Strongest Man” competition Saturday.

The post had been shared more than 1,800 times and received over 160 comments including one that said “how earresponsible.”

“Thank you to all who shared the missing ear post!” Holmes Beach Police posted Thursday morning. “The owner of the ear has been identified and will be reunited with his ear because of the Facebook post!”

Police plan to mail the ear to South Carolina, the Associated Press reported.

“We will put it in box,” Holmes Beach Police Sgt. Brian Hall told the AP. “’I hope nobody sees it and freaks out.”