Woman reunited with wedding ring after nearly three decades

Ring lost during 1992 ski trip

PORTLAND, Ore. (KYMA, KSWT, KECY) - A Portland woman gets her wedding ring back nearly 30-years after she lost it.

Melisse De La Mare lost the ring during a ski trip to Oregon's Mount Bachelor in 1992. Melisse had lost hope of every seeing it again.

"I just didn't want to tell my mother-in-law because it was her ring." Melisse recalls. "That sinking feeling you get in your stomach when you're going to get hauled off to the principal's officer cause you've done something wrong."

Then, last summer Heather Langley, a jewelry maker from Alabama, came across the ring. One of her customers actually found it while working at Mount Bachelor.

Heather started investigating. She found out when her customer found the ring, then cross-referenced the names engraved inside. Eventually, after a bit more detective work, Heather managed to find Melisse.

Heather then boarded a flight to Portland to hand-deliver the long-lost wedding band.

"I believe in these kind of things, " said Heather. "It was absolutely amazing to be a part of it."

Melisse's husband says a personal treasure has finally been recovered.

"We lost something that meant something to the family, not from a monetary point of view."

Melisse says the ring actually fits better now than it did all those years ago.