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"I pulled it out and I started whooping and hollering," Stewart told KSL-TV of the moment he made the discovery.
Stewart said the only clues he had to go on were the name of the school, the year and the initials "R.W.D." engraved inside the band.
The metal detectorist found a Colorado School of Mines 1948 yearbook for sale on eBay and bought it. The tome gave him the name of the ring's likely owner: Richard William Deneke.
Stewart said he spent several months searching the Internet and posting appeals for help to find Deneke's family, and he recently was surprised to learn Deneke is alive and nearing his 100th birthday at a nursing home in Georgia.
"Thank you very much," Deneke told Stewart in a phone call. "I think it's amazing."
Deneke said he remembers losing the ring in the 1940s while visiting a home in Richfield.
Stewart said he will return the ring to its owner through the mail.