COLUMBUS, Ohio - While scuba diving in the Bahamas four years ago, Steve Brown lost his prized possession: a varsity class ring he purchased in 1986 after he earned a letter playing lacrosse at The Ohio State University.

But a few weeks ago, a phone call from a scuba diver reunited Brown with his long-lost ring.

For Brown, the ring was more than just a memento he wore on his finger. It was a sweet reminder of his days at Ohio State.

"It was all those memories and it was hopefully something that I'd have a lifetime to remind me of athletics and academics at Ohio State," Brown said.

He kept the ring for several years until his honeymoon in the Bahamas.

Brown and his wife Katy were returning to a boat from scuba diving when the ring fell to the ocean floor.

"I open my hand for just that one last stroke, and there it goes," Brown said. "It was like a piece of you just spiraled away to the bottom of the ocean floor.  It was kind of tough."

Brown thought the ring was gone for good, until he received a phone call from a scuba diver who had found an Ohio State ring.

"He said, 'Well, the gentleman who found the ring was scuba diving in the Caribbean in Nassau,'" Brown said. "I went, 'You have got to be kidding me. That's my ring.' "

Last Thursday, the ring, along with a letter from the people who recovered it, arrived at Steve Brown's home.

"To go through the effort to track me down and to get the ring back to me, there just aren't words," Brown said. "Don't tell my wife this, but my wedding ring will come off before this thing does," he joked.

Brown said he plans to someday give the ring to his daughter.

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