The case of the missing ear on Anna Maria Island has been solved

The Holmes Beach Police Department was happy to announce Thursday morning that their social media effort to reunite a lost prosthetic ear with its owner was successful.

The ear has been reunited with the unidentified South Carolina man.

Police Chief Bill Tokajer said the man told police that he was holding the ear in his hand while he swam into the Gulf of Mexico off of Manatee Public Beach on June 15, taking a break from the nearby World’s Strongest Man competition.

“He told us that a big wave came and knocked it out of his hand and was unable to locate it,” Tokajer said, noting the man saw the Facebook post and contacted his officers.

“He’s definitely happy,” Tokajer said.

Though the incident was serious, given the personal nature of the missing prosthetic and that they can range in price from $4,000 to $8,000, the post did generate some humor.

One Facebook commenter said whoever lost it, “I bet your wife is giving you an earful.”

Another wrote, “That’s so EARtating, I hate when that happens,” while another commented, “How earresponsible.”

Others however, did not find it so funny, as one wrote, “All you people making jokes clearly don’t understand how important this is to someone who lost it. Being born without an ear and losing a prosthetic you paid a ton of money for is nothing to joke about.