Precious ring recovered.

After city officials in Colorado Springs, Colorado, began draining Prospect Lake so it could be relined, the receding lake began revealing some of its secret treasures. Retired electrician Orlin Knutsen joined other treasure seekers in scavenging the lake bed with metal detectors. Among his finds was a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle with the keys still in the ignition.

After a Colorado Springs Gazette article mentioned Knutsen's prospecting exploits, Carolyn Case-Greening called the Knutsen household and left a message urging Knutsen to keep an eye out for a ring lost nearly four decades ago.

Mrs. Case-Greening married her first husband, Jack Case, on November 29, 1964. The next summer, while water skiing on Prospect Lake, his wedding band slipped off his finger and sank. Mrs. Case-Greening recalls that "he came home from water skiing and he just looked awful. He was pale. He was shaken. I said, 'What happened?' He said, 'I lost my wedding ring.'" She says "he felt bad about it all his life."

The ring's sentimental value increased dramatically after July 19, 1989. On that day, Jack Case was on United Airlines Flight 232 when an engine explosion caused the plane to crash in Sioux City, Iowa. Though 184 of the 296 persons on board survived, Mr. Case did not.

After receiving Mrs. Case-Greening's request for help, Knutsen did not give it much thought, since the odds of locating the long-lost memento after 39 years in a 50-acre lake seemed incalculable. But during a search on May 17, he found it buried under eight inches of wet sand near the public swimming area. He promptly contacted Mrs. Case-Greening to arrange its return.

Carolyn Case-Greening considers the finding of her late husband's ring to be a miracle, and told the May 20 Gazette that she is convinced that her late husband is "up there in heaven, happy it is found."

As an expression of her gratitude, Mrs. Case-Greening gave Knutsen a "thank-you" balloon and a gift certificate for a steak dinner.