What started as an email Bradley Buckle thought might be a scam turned out to be the return of a ring he had not seen in about 20 years.

The St. John’s Pharmasave co-owner received the gold ring when he graduated from Memorial University’s pharmacy school in 2002. He misplaced it shortly after.

“[I] just accepted that the ring was gone and that I’d never see it again,” Buckle said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.

The ring stayed out of sight until the Pharmacists’ Association of Newfoundland and Labrador received an email Buckle later provided to CBC.

“I have something in my possession which belongs to a probable pharmacist,” the email read. “I expect it would be very sentimental if I can locate the correct person… I’ve had it about 15 years.”

The message came from Dan Howard, who lives in Ontario and made several attempts to find the ring’s owner. Howard told CBC Buckle must have thought he was trying to scam him.

Buckle, who had moved to Ontario and back himself, said he could not believe someone had this piece of jewelry. Then his pharmacy got a phone call early the next day. It was Howard.

“He asked me to describe the ring, the markings on the ring, which I did. And then he asked for my middle initial, which I gave him. And then I could just sort of sense this kind of relief in his voice,” Buckle said.

Howard found the ring in the pocket of a pair of jeans he bought at a Goodwill thrift store. He told CBC he valued it at around $800 after holding onto it for several years, but refused to sell it.

“It sat in the drawer and I forgot all about it for a long time. And then I just pulled it out and thought, well, I’ll give it one more shot,” Howard said.

He searched online for someone whose identity matched the ring’s inscriptions. The ring has Buckle’s name engraved on it. Howard said he knew he had found the right person when he saw a Facebook photo of Buckle receiving an award from the Pharmacists’ Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Buckle said he did not fully believe it until he had the ring back on his finger after two decades.

Although he said he was relieved to have it back, Buckle said he was even more struck by Howard’s character.

“Persistence, effort, honesty … it’s rare to see somebody with those kind of characteristics,” Buckle said.

Howard said he was simply doing what he felt was right.

“My son just graduated,” he said. “I thought, well, what if it was his? Would he want it back?”

“It all comes around in the end.”

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