Stolen class ring returned to Washington High graduate after 40-year mystery

It only took three hours for Sioux Falls School District staff to solve a 40-year-old mystery.

Sue (Mortenson) Ruyter lost her 1970 WHS class ring nearly 40 years ago. While the 68-year-old had all but forgotten the ring, there was a decades-long effort to return it to her hands — just in time for her 50th class reunion this year.

Hunter Currey wasn't expecting to find anything more than chicken waste as he cleaned out his mother's coop 20 years ago in Post Falls, Idaho. But the now 39-year-old found a surprise in the soil — a WHS class ring from 1970, featuring a green gemstone, the WHS warrior mascot and engraved "SM" initials.

"I've always enjoyed mysteries and being nosey and snoopy, I guess," he said. "It's a real-life mystery. You can't beat that."

The ring had ended up in the chicken coop nearly 40 years ago when Ruyter lived in Post Falls with her husband and children. They stumbled upon a burglary at their house by two teenage neighbors, who had stolen some of Ruyter's jewelry, including an opal ring and necklaces given to her by her husband and the class ring.

The boys ran out of the house and threw the loot in a neighbor's backyard, so when the Ruyters and police came looking, they didn't find anything in the backyard, Ruyter said.

After a while, the ring barely crossed her mind.

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She'd assumed it was gone for good, but Currey spent the last 20 years half-heartedly working to return the ring to her. He would search available online yearbooks, but it wasn't until January this year that he reached out to the Washington High School assistant principal for help.

They solved it within a matter of hours.

Assistant Principal Rachel Eggers-Ferry recruited the help of Kerri Smith, the WHS librarian, and DeeAnn Konrad, a spokeswoman with the Sioux Falls School District. Smith found two women who graduated with the initials "SM" in 1970, and Konrad had contact information for Ruyter from an alumni registry.

Eggers-Ferry called Ruyter, who confirmed she'd lost the ring decades earlier. Eggers-Ferry connected Ruyter and Currey, who sent the ring to Florida, where Ruyter and her husband are spending the winter.

"When he sent it to us, it was in pretty good shape still," she said. "The Washington head wasn't hardly worn off — for being under a chicken coop for that many years."

The mystery has ignited a drive in Currey to solve more, he said. For Ruyter, it's a blessing and surprise to have her ring returned to her.

"We have good people around us," Ruyter said. "Even though there's always bad, there's a lot of good people out there trying to help each other."

Now, she just has to find her husband's class ring, which he thinks is somewhere in their house, she said. The couple plans to return to Sioux Falls soon, and she'll have her ring in time for their 50th class reunion.

"It's definitely a story to tell," she said.