St. Raphael Academy — School That Helped Identify Ring Owner
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…