Jeffrey M. Dingle

The Missing Ring

In the days since her husband, Jeffrey Mark Dingle, went to a breakfast conference at Windows on the World and never came home, Dr. Nichole Brathwaite Dingle has relied on friends, family and humor to keep her spirit from crumbling. With two children, ages 9 and 3, she has had to be strong. She tells friends he is not missing, but simply staying away from their Bronx apartment because he does not want to clean the bathroom. The coast is clear, she says. I've cleaned it. Jeffrey can come home now.

The two had been inseparable since they met on the University of Pennsylvania campus a decade ago (he was at Villanova, she at U. Penn), although there were the few months that Mr. Dingle, 32, lived in Washington, working and taking care of the children, while his wife stayed in New York to finish medical school. In July, Mr. Dingle found a job with Encompys, a high-tech company with offices in Midtown. This summer they moved into a new apartment. "They were finally going to be adults," said a longtime friend, Sherry Ellerbe.

A few weeks ago the couple renewed their vows and Mr. Dingle told his wife he was taking her ring in for repairs. In fact, he was having the jeweler put in a higher-grade diamond. Dr. Brathwaite Dingle has been telling friends that her husband must come home for one reason: "Only he knows where he took my ring."