The return of a 1964 St. Raphael Academy class ring to Pawtucket's Paul Benson depended on a few engraved initials and help from the school's alumni department. A Seattle metal detectorist found the 10-karat ring in the sand during a low-tide search last November, 47 years after it went missing in Puget Sound.
According to WJAR, Benson's brother, Eric, borrowed the ring in 1979 for a trip to the West Coast. The finder described it on the hobbyist forum Treasurenet: “it was a 1964 10kt Class Ring from St. Raphael's Academy in Pawtucket, RI.” The band was engraved with the initials PEB.
A Beach, a Rock, and a Rising Tide
WJAR reports that Eric removed the ring on a beach near Puget Sound and set it on a rock, then forgot it as the tide came in. The finder's Treasurenet account also says Eric borrowed the ring from his brother for a West Coast trip and left it behind on the rock.
What began as a loan for the summer became a decades-long loss. WJAR reports that Eric, who now lives in Israel, has said Paul forgave him over the years, though the missing ring remained part of the story. Eric has also said he would ask Paul before borrowing anything of his again.
Tracking Down PEB Through Alumni Records
The initials led the finder to St. Raphael Academy's alumni department, which checked them against the 1964 graduating class and identified Benson. In his Treasurenet account, the finder said school staff then went to Benson's home and spoke with his wife.
WJAR identifies the finder as Lucas Thrun and reports that he and the school's alumni director later visited Benson together. Rather than mail the ring, Thrun traveled to Rhode Island to return it in person. In his forum account, the finder described plans to make that trip after learning that Eric, who lives in Israel, expected to visit family in the United States.
Rules for Metal Detecting in Washington
The exact recovery site has not been identified, so it is not possible to determine whether state-park rules applied. Washington State Parks says detector users must register and may search only in specified portions of approved state parks. The location matters because those requirements apply to particular parks and designated areas, not necessarily to every beach.
What the Ring Meant to Come Home
WJAR reports that the ring's return brought back memories of Benson's mother and family, and that he said the experience renewed his faith in people. He credited Thrun with ensuring the ring did not remain only a lost memory.
Stories like this aren't entirely unique to Rhode Island or the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Times reported on a similar case involving a Massachusetts woman, Francesca Teal, whose diamond wedding ring — a family heirloom that had belonged to her great-grandmother — slipped off her finger while she was tossing a football with her husband at North Beach in Hampton, New Hampshire. A man named Lou Asci spent two fruitless days searching the sand with a metal detector before finally locating the ring beneath the ocean floor, then brought it to Teal's home, where her husband got down on one knee to slide it back onto her hand.
After 47 years, the class ring was back with the person whose initials it carried, closing a long detour that began with a summer loan and ended with a cross-country handoff.
