LOS ANGELES (AP) — When a torrent of mud crashed through Mari Mitchel's bedroom in Southern California three months ago, it carried away everything from massive pieces of antique family furniture to a tiny pouch that held her wedding and engagement rings and a beloved pendant.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Mitchel had nearly lost all hope she would ever see her most treasured jewelry again.

But on April 3, the 65-year-old Mitchel got what she calls her "tiny miracle." The pouch filled with jewelry was plucked from a 6-foot (2-meter) pile of mud down the street from h...