Lost & Found

Lost & Found - A close up of a hand - Class ring

Local returns lost class ring

Trevor Wofsey, a local postal carrier, has a hobby that finally, finally yielded some satisfactory results. He’s a longtime fan of metal detectors. At Christmastime, he invested in a second-hand White Surfmaster PI, good to 100 feet. (“That’s too deep for me.”) And, on Sunday, he found a Marathon High School class ring in a couple feet of water at Sombrero Beach in Marathon. Its identifying features included the name “Paul,” the Gemini sign, and the year he graduated — 2012.

Like any self-respecting, small-town detective, Wofsey followed a time-tested method of detection and deduction. He chatted up the neighbors about his find. One guessed it might be Paul Acosta. So, he put it up on a Facebook message board and hit immediate pay dirt.

“I think the first person to tag me in the post was [teacher] Jeff Cox. I’m still getting calls — ‘Is that your ring?’” said Acosta, laughing, on Tuesday.

Acosta said he lost it while playing ball at the beach. He was standing in the water playing catch when it happened. He said it took a couple of minutes to realize it was missing.

“It’s in pretty good shape,” Acosta said, examining the ring. “I expected it to be all rusted out.”

“Yeah,” said Trevor, sadly and a little wistfully. “It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever found. It’s mostly junk — little girl costume jewelry and Corona bottle caps and old pop tops.”

But the thrill of the hunt is strong with Wofsey.

“But this one time, this guy found a gold wedding ring with diamonds right in front of my eyes.” As he related the story, his eyes glazed a bit and a smile crept over his face. Yes, we suspect Wofsey will be back at the beach next weekend.

Sara Matthis thinks community journalism is important, but not serious; likes weird and wonderful children (she has two); and occasionally tortures herself with sprint-distance triathlons, but only if she has a good chance of beating her sister.