OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A California teen had a “sinking feeling in his stomach” after he lost a cross necklace containing his father’s ashes, according to FOX 5.  However a family discovered it and made it their mission to return it to him.

Isaiah Pasefika reportedly lost his father to cancer in January.  Pasefika and his nine siblings each received a cross necklace holding his ashes.

Pasefika told the news outlet he rarely takes the necklace off.

However, on a recent beach trip he removed the necklace before entering the water.  He believed he placed the necklace securely in his bag.  But, when he went to put it back on, he realized it was gone.

“It’s not a fun feeling. I thought to myself there’s no way. The sand’s going to cover it. It’s moving everywhere. Someone probably found it already,” Pasefika told FOX 5.

Unfortunately, his fear was correct.

Almost a week later, an 11-year-old girl was sifting through the sand for shells when she reportedly spotted “something shiny.”

“I picked it up and realized it was a necklace. I started looking around it and it said in loving memory and I turned around and realized what it was,” Abbie Cuthbertson said told the news outlet. “I also have one of those necklaces with my own parents ashes in it and I just thought ‘if that was me who lost that, I would need someone to find it and get it back to me.’”

Cuthbertson shared a post on social media hoping to find the necklace’s owner.

Within just a couple of hours the post had been shared over 600 times, reportedly.  The girl made the post Monday morning and was private messaged by Pasefika’s sister that afternoon.

A couple of days later Pasefika met up with the girl and her family to get his necklace.

The two families reportedly said this experience has bonded them for life and they plan to get together again in the near future.