Nearly forty years after their wedding, a widow from Utah has finally gotten her husband’s wedding ring back again.

Linda and Bruce Dunn were married on June 14, 1969. Bruce was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves, and was killed in a helicopter crash en route from Corpus Cristi, Texas, to El Paso, Texas in 1972.

Recently, a ranch hand in Texas found a wedding band, and turned it in to Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer. The sheriff did a bit of investigating, and discovered that this was the same ring that belonged to Bruce Dunn.

Sheriff Hierholzer discovered Linda in Utah, remarried now as Linda Sasser. Identifying the ring by its inscription - the wedding date and the word “darlin” - Linda now has closure on a meaningful part of her life.

This incredibly moving story would not have been possible without the ranch hand’s keen eye, or the sheriff’s inquisitive mind. After such a long period of time, surely all hope of finding anything left over from the crash would have been gone.

Now, in time for the 40th anniversary of their wedding, Linda has his wedding ring again. I’m sure it will be a treasured keepsake for the rest of her life.