Human Interest Mass. Marine Reservist Reunited with Special Boot-Camp Ring After Losing it Playing Basketball A good Samaritan found the misplaced ring and turned it in to the local Whitman police station By Laura Barcella Published on May 31, 2023 03:46PM EDT Photo: CBS Boston/Youtube; Whitman Police Department After a 22-year-old Massachusetts Marine reservist lost his ring from boot camp — ironically over Memorial Day weekend — he didn’t necessarily expect to see the sentimental piece of jewelry again. "It's something that gives you strength when you look at it. So, it means a lot to me,” Wanyoike Wainaina told CBS News about the ring's powerful personal meaning. Fortunately, a good Samaritan found the misplaced ring near a basketball court in the town center where Wainaina had been shooting hoops and turned it in to the local Whitman police station on Sunday night, CBS reports. Mass. Man Spends Days Searching Sea for Stranger's Missing Wedding Ring — and He Finds It! For days, police tried to locate the ring’s owner, posting a photo on Facebook seeking clues — but to no avail. On Tuesday, in an attempt to track down the ring's owner, Lt. Daniel Connolly of the Whitman Police Department called a local Marine recruiter and read the inscribed text: a boot-camp graduation date and platoon number, per CBS. To everyone's delight, the Marine sergeant was then able to trace the ring back to Wainaina. Lost Engagement Ring Found Over a Year After It Was Accidentally Flushed Down Calif. Toilet "I was actually able to look it up in our system, and we only had one kid from Whitman-Hanson High School that graduated in 2020,” Marine Sgt. Cody Rhinehart told CBS. Just minutes later, Lt. Connolly headed to Wainaina’s home to return the memorabilia. "It's a cool ring — somebody could have walked off with it,” Wainaina told CBS. "So, it really means a lot to me that somebody turned it in, and people tried so hard to find me. It tells me a lot about the people in Whitman." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In an update to the Police Department’s original FB post, the department wrote, The ring has been reunited with its grateful owner! Thanks to all who shared this post. Lt. Dan Connolly called a local recruiter, who was able to identify a local Marine who was in the class represented on this ring. A few calls were made, and next thing you know,..the owner was located. Nice job, Lt. Connolly!!"