Missouri Man Finds Lost Ring From 1981, Tracing Its Owner

A Missouri man recently discovered a lost ring while working in his garden, which had been missing since 1981. Neal Lens Down was tending to his garden near Rockport when he noticed something shiny buried in a pile of dirt and debris. Upon cleaning the object, he realized it was a ring from Omaha Northwest High School, dating back to 1978, with the name “Kerry Croker” engraved on it.

Neal was astounded to find the ring, as Omaha is about 70 miles away from his location in Missouri. He said, “It’s strange how this ring ended up in my garden in Rockport, Missouri, when it originally belonged to someone from Omaha.”

While Neal expressed that he had no interest in a reward, he was curious to know how the ring ended up in his garden. He added that he would be extremely happy to return the ring to its rightful owner.

The Omaha Northwest Foundation started a social media search for Kerry Croker, the ring’s owner, but initially had no luck. However, Kerry Croker, now living in Florida, saw a TV news report about the search and contacted Neal.

Kerry explained that the ring went missing around 1981 but he had no idea how it disappeared. He speculated that he might have lost it or that it could have been stolen. He shared that while he never visited Rockport, his family operated a flower and pot shop in Omaha at the time, and they frequently visited the store. Kerry suggested that the ring might have fallen into a pot or dirt and eventually made its way to Neal’s garden in Rockport.

Neal is now in touch with Kerry and is excited to return the lost ring, bringing an unexpected and heartwarming conclusion to a decades-old mystery.