A ring lost in a New York lake in 1998 was found with a metal detector 28 years later

A school ring lost in Great Sacandaga Lake in New York State in 1998 was returned to its owner 28 years later. The piece of jewellery was found by two metal-detecting enthusiasts when the reservoir’s water level dropped and exposed part of the lakebed.

The ring belongs to Kim Rasbeck, a 1988 graduate of Red Creek School. She lost it while spending time with friends at Great Sacandaga Lake and for many years considered it impossible that it would ever be found.

The jewellery was discovered by Michael Siegel and Dylan Laporte, who share a passion for metal detecting. “We heard the detector signal, then simply turned over a rock — and the ring was lying there,” Laporte said.

The men initially posted a photograph of the find on social media, but received no response. Laporte then called Red Creek School directly: the secretary immediately recognised whose ring it was — she had once played on the same football team as Rasbeck.

The owner, who now lives in Rochester, offered to pay the finders, but they refused. “That’s why we go out: to find rings and return them, and everything else is just a bonus,” Siegel explained.

Stories like these happen less often than the news might suggest. Great Sacandaga is a reservoir with seasonal fluctuations in water level, and finds on the exposed lakebed are possible only during certain periods. In addition, returning an item to its owner is usually possible only when it bears an engraving: the school’s name, the graduation year or initials.