NEW BRUNFELS, Texas – A woman who lost her class ring more than 50 years ago will soon get to wear it again after a good Samaritan found it in the Guadalupe River.
Stephanie Serna spoke with a man who not only found her ring, but went out of his way to track down the owner.
"I saw something shiny and I went over to that rock and I saw this ring inside the rock itself," said Justin Lee, who was snorkeling at the time. "It formed in the rock and all I could see was the outer layer of the ring."
Lee knew it was a ring, but at the time he says he had no idea how valuable it would be to someone.
"I stayed there for like 20 minutes chipping away at that ring, trying to get out of that rock, and finally it fell out," Lee said.
What he found was a high school graduation ring from Redwood Falls in Minnesota. It was dated 1952.
"I kept looking at it, and then I saw her initials engraved in the ring, also the 'MJK,' so that night I went home, I was laying in bed and I just could not sleep," Lee said.
He got online and found that MJK was Mary Jane Keris.
He decided to put a post up on Facebook to see if he could find her. About 12 hours later, Keris' daughter saw the post and contacted him.
"Her daughter actually remembers when they used to come down here and float the river because they had a cabin up the road," Lee said. "She was about 4 or 5 years old when her mom lost it. Her mom is now 83 years old."
Lee plans to meet Keris Saturday to give the ring back. He said he also plans to show her where he found it.
"It's going to be a good feeling to actually meet her," he said. "Give her the ring myself. Her mom is so excited. She just cannot wait to get her ring back after all these years."