After 40 years of being buried in the brush of a local quarry, a class ring was returned to its rightful owner in an emotional reunion - thanks to the diligent sleuthing of a stranger.

Nancy Kennedy first found the ring at a swimming hole in Hopewell, New Jersey last week. All she knew about the ring, which had been engulfed by a tree root, was that it came from St. Hubert's Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and had initials inscribed on the inside.

She then took to Facebook with a picture of the ring and a plea for help in finding its rightful owner.

A few hundred shares later, the post was spotted by Andrea Forrester.

"Andrea Forrester contacted me when she realized it was her mother's, Julia Patricia Walsh-St. Hubert's Class of 1949," says Kennedy, a former journalist. "After her marriage, she went by the name Patricia Cariola, and sadly, she died in 1987."

Walsh had lost the ring over 40 years ago, and Forrester - who was just a child at the time - could not believe that someone had found the piece of jewelry.

"Andrea is so grateful to have this memento of her mother," wrote Kennedy. "As a young girl, Andrea remembers it being in her mother's jewelry box, and she'd try it on when her mother allowed her to play with her jewelry."

"My mother and I were best friends," said Forrester. "It's been 30 years this past March and I miss her every day."

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