Maine Woman Reunited With Long-Lost Ring Found Buried in Forest 3,800 Miles Away

A Maine woman was reunited with a long-lost ring after a treasure hunter found it buried in a forest in Finland.

In 1973, Debra McKenna was given a white gold class ring from her high school boyfriend, Shawn. A month later, she took it off to wash her hands and when she went to put it on, it was gone.

"Of course I was very dramatic and crying," Debra told Inside Edition. "I was 16."

The high school sweethearts went on to get married. They had three kids and lived a good life, until Shawn died of cancer in 2017.

"He was my whole life," Debra said.

Then, on Valentine's Day this year, she got a call from her high school alumni association. The ring lost nearly five decades ago had been miraculously found by Marko Saarinen while treasure hunting in a forest in Finland. He told Debra that he found it buried eight inches under ground with a metal detector.

Saarinen researched the school name, the year and the initials, and found Debra through her high school alumni association. The ring was then mailed to her.

"When I heard you were going to send it back to me, I started crying," Debra said. 

As to how the ring ended up in a forest in Finland? That's a great mystery that may never be solved.

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