Feb. 5 (UPI) -- A Mississippi man who lost his class ring during a trip to the beach in 1982 was reunited with the treasured item 44 years later.
Darien Ladner said he lost his Pass Christian High School class ring while attending a party at Pass Christian beach with some friends during his senior year of high school.
"I searched and searched but could not find it," Ladner wrote on social media.
Ladner said he even returned to the beach with an assistant principal who offered to search with his metal detector, but they had no luck.
Ladner received a Facebook message earlier this week from Sammy Jewell, who told Ladner he had found the ring while treasure hunting with his metal detector at the beach.
"Whenever I got the message Monday morning, I was ecstatic, I couldn't believe it, because it's been 44 years," Ladner told WLOX-TV.
He was amazed to learn the ring had been found in the same spot where he lost it.
"From the time I lost it, which would have been between January and May of 1982, to now, we've had seven hurricanes and five tropical storms," Ladner said. "So that ring's been through a lot, not considering all the heavy equipment running up and down the beach."
He said the ring is in excellent condition, except for a small scuff.
