RIPON, Calif. (CNN/KCRA) -- The male half of a California couple has been in the doghouse for decades, after he lost his then-girlfriend's class ring. Now, 38 years later it's been found!
Tim Bunnell and Nancy Den Dulk were high school sweethearts and swapped class rings, but Bunnell lost his while playing football at Ripon High School.
Tim looked and looked for her ring. He says, "Every time I would go out on the field, I would look down come out there, I would look down on the grass, and hopefully find it, you know, and hopefully get me out of trouble a little bit."
Then, while crews were replacing sod on the field, someone spotted a shiny object. Stephanie Hobbs says, "One of the cheerleaders came up to me and had a ring in her hand."
The ring said 1974; it was lost nearly 40 years ago. But even after all these years, more than 30 years and thousands and thousands of football games on the field, the ring was found in tact with barely a scratch on it. Bunnell says, "They take the sod off and brought dirt in, they've been trenching and it's just unbelievable to think that they found it."
Now, Tim and Nancy all these years later, still sweethearts and Nancy is able to wear her wedding ring and class ring together.