RING FOUND: South Stanly HS class ring identified after Channel 9 report

STANLY COUNTY, N.C. — A Stanly County man identified his South Stanly High School Class of 2005 ring after seeing Channel 9's report Wednesday evening.

The ring belongs to Steven Biby, who said he hasn't seen the ring in about a year.

Joshua Whiting, in England, found the class ring in the pocket of a jacket he bought at a thrift store.

Biby said he didn't know how the jacket got to London, but it belonged to his stepdad who passed away. His mom donated some of his stepdad's clothes.

Whiting said he didn't realize what it was at first because class rings are not a tradition in England. But a friend, who is from North Carolina, knew immediately it was a class ring and recognized the county.

"After I knew what it was, I thought I better get it back to whoever owns it,” Whiting said. “I've got no use for it and wouldn't it be nice to have your graduation ring back after it made its way all the way to London?"

Whiting searched Facebook for the high school and found a Class of 2005 graduate, Julie Lowder, and told her what he had found.

"I really appreciate it that he went through all this trouble," Biby said.

Lowder used social media to try to find out who the ring belongs to.

"My name came up first in our reunion page,” Lowder said.

It wasn't Lowder's ring, but she shared pictures of the ring locally.

On one side of the ring is a Confederate soldier, which was the school's mascot in 2005. It appears to be a man's ring, and engraved on the inside, the initials "MSB."

"I haven't had any luck. We thought of a couple of people, but it wasn't theirs,” Lowder said.

The unique story and pictures are now going viral on social media.

Whiting said he hoped it helped get the ring back on the hand of its owner.

"It's a sentimental thing, isn't it? It's a piece of jewelry that marks a certain time in somebody's life, so it's not just like it's a meaningless trinket,” Whiting said.

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