Aug. 26 (UPI) — A Florida postal worker and hobbyist metal detector found a 1987 class ring while metal detecting at Ponce Inlet.
Clint Hayworth posted about the find on Facebook, reaching out to the Daytona Dig & Find Metal Detection Club for help getting the ring back to its owner.
“At low tide around noon we were digging holes on the beach,” Hayworth posted on Facebook. “I came across a strong signal in the soft red sand.
“It rang up as a number 15 on my metal detector, which is usually just a soda tab. We were going to pass it up, but decided we don’t like to leave trash on the beach.”
The Ovieda High School senior class ring was inscribed with the initials DEB, and club members narrowed its possible owners down to Donald Edward Brandl, who lost the ring 34 years ago during senior ditch day at Ponce Inlet.
“It’s amazing that that ring for 34 years stayed in that spot with all the hurricanes and surf we’ve had,” Brandl told WESH TV.
The ring is on its way back to Brandl, who said he is grateful for the discovery and the effort to find him.
“It’s a glimpse back into those days of my lifestyle of surfing and being young and carefree,” he said.