A Deerfield Beach High School alumnus will receive his 1979 class ring Friday, after having lost it for about 30 years, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.
Randal Dotson, 51, does not recall exactly how he lost the ring, but said the ring was a way to remember some of the best years of his life, the report said.
“I had written off any likelihood of ever seeing that ring again. My jaw just dropped. I couldn't believe it,” Dotson, who now lives in Dallas, told the newspaper.
The ring has a ruby-red stone with the antlered Bucks mascot and the class motto: Within your reach.
"It was a pretty big deal when I got it, and it will be a big deal when I get it back," Dotson said. "Hope it fits."
The ring was found a couple of years back by a man who used his metal detector while walking up and down the beach. When the man died, the ring was passed on to his daughter and her husband, who attempted to return the ring various times, the report said.
But it wasn’t until last week, when the couple went to Deerfield Beach High hoping to find the ring’s owner. At the school, an office manager was able to look through the 1979 yearbook and found the only man with the matching initials: KRD.
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“It has been so long that I don't even recollect being mad about losing it," Dotson told the newspaper. “I probably took the ring off to go in the water and that was it. But I would think about it from time to time, especially when I would see someone wearing a class ring. I'd say, 'I wish I had mine.' “
Dotson was easily found on Facebook and the ring will be given to him on Friday, when his sister-in-law flies to Dallas for a wedding shower.
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