There's something about a lost ring story that everyone loves — especially when the ring is symbolic, such as an engagement ring — and even better when the finder is a hero who does the righteous thing.
A hero like Sean Bailey, a Dallas resident who recently unearthed a class ring dating back to the early '90s and was able to reunite it with its long-lost owner.
Bailey, a merchandising manager and well known figure in Dallas' rock scene who tours with bands like the Toadies and Reverend Horton Heat, has been a metal detecting hobbyist for more than 15 years — roaming older parts of Dallas in his spare time in search of historical artifacts.
"I've always been a nerd about things buried in the ground, starting with fossils as a kid, the stories of pirates and buried treasure," he says. "I finally broke down and bought a cheap used metal detector off eBay. There's a whole nerd army doing this. It's a lot of history buffs and people who like to get outdoors and dig."
Some diggers are seeking coins or things they can sell. Others, like Bailey, are more interested in items with historical value.
"I prefer relics over coins," he says. "I'd rather dig up civil war bullets or dog tags."
"Nine times out of 10, you don't find stuff that’s worth anything, and that's OK," he says. "In the big picture, you're making the ground cleaner. There's a code of ethics that you leave it better than you found it — you don't leave big holes, and if you come across garbage, you take it out with you."
He found the ring in Corsicana, on what is called a "seeded hunt," where an organizer will sprinkle collectible items in a field and charge an entry fee.
"I used to avoid seeded hunts but they can still be fun and this one turned out unexpectedly because I found the ring," he says.
"Every detectorist has a list of things they hope to find, and for me, it's always been a bucket list item to find a class ring," he says. "Mostly for the opportunity to connect with the person who lost it, and get it back to them."
The miraculous thing is that the ring was not part of the "seeded" bounty.
"The organizers had put out mostly coins, and when I found it, I assumed it was something they’d planted," he says. "After the hunt, I found out, no, it wasn’t planted."
The ring was from Corsicana High School, Class of 1994, and had the owner's first name, Kevin. A clue! One of the organizers of the event, Cole Taylor, was from Corsicana, and helped Bailey track down owner Kevin Fisher, through his mother Frances, who still resides in Corsicana.
Frances Fisher of Corsicana, holding the missing ring.Sean Bailey
Fisher, who lives in Destin, Florida, says he'd only had the ring a couple months when he lost it.
"I was at that park helping load in for a choir concert or cultural event, I can't remember which, but I was helping carry equipment in and out," Fisher says. "I had my ring when I started, but at the end of the day, it wasn't on my finger."
He went back and retraced his steps, then went back the next day, and again a week later after they mowed, to see if it turned up. His family searched local pawn shops, but no luck. He says he was "pleasantly shocked" to hear it had been found.
"I hated losing it, I was just about to graduate," he says. "About a year ago, I wondered about it again, would it ever show up."
Bailey says there are Facebook groups and websites for people trying to retrieve lost treasures, where you can post descriptions of items lost and found — mainly class rings and wedding bands — sometimes with a bounty attached.
"Some do it to get a reward, and Kevin's mother offered me a little money, but something like this is most valuable to its owner. I do it because it's the right thing to do," he says.
Speaking of, Bailey does not have his class ring.
"I’m sentimental — I wish I had mine, but I gave it to a girl and never got it back," he says.
