Man finds missing Father’s Day gift in debris on Fort Myers Beach

Never give up. That’s what one man said about dealing with the hurricane damage on Fort Myers Beach.

During the storm, Matt Samko lost a pocket watch he got for his first Father’s Day, but he found it with some hard work and motivation.

First, he rummaged through the parking lot. He said he must have walked in the same circle six times to find his beloved present.

Then, he went to a debris pile. He didn’t know what it was, but something drew him to that location.

The first thing he found in the pile were some of his business cards. Then he found the glass case where he kept his pocket watch.

He had been searching for almost three hours when he called his wife and told her he was giving this search ten more minutes, then giving up.

While on the phone with her, Samko’s fate changed when he suddenly found his prized Father’s Day gift.

“This is it. I was just kind of taking it and going like this. The workers that were taking the sheetrock and all of the debris out of there, they probably thought I was nuts digging in here. They came out and checked on me a few times, and I was trying to explain to them what I was looking for. But as I was digging in here and then I kinda went like this, there I uncovered the watch, and two workers were standing here, and I was on the phone with Lori. I said, ‘oh my God, I just found it!’ And everybody, oh my god, the worker took it out of my hand and literally started cleaning it off on his shirt,” said Samko.

Samko said this could have been easy to replace, but it would have never been as special as the one he got as a gift.

Now, the pocket watch represents not only his love for his daughter but also his love for Fort Myers Beach.