"When I lost my class ring freshman year of 2006, I never really thought I'd see it again," Pierson told WALB-TV.
Pierson's ring turned out to have been found by Marilyn Jackson shortly after he lost it. Jackson said she found the ring while walking on the trail, but she was unable to read the engraved letters because of the small size of the print.
Jackson said she took out ads in local papers trying to find the ring's owner in 2006, but was unsuccessful.
She said a recent news report about another lost and found ring reminded her of the item still in her possession, and she decided to renew her search for the owner.
"I had my magnifying glass, I had my eyeglasses on, I had a couple of lamps for light. It took me about an hour to figure out what those small, tiny letters were, but it worked," Jackson said.
Jackson searched online for the engraved name, and was soon able to connect with Pierson.
"I asked him, 'Did you lose a ring, a class ring in 2006?' He texted back, 'Yes.' Then the conversation started," she said.
Pierson thanked Jackson for her efforts to return his ring.
"I'm grateful Mrs. Jackson found it, kept it, and sought me out after all these years," he said.
He celebrated the ring's return in a Facebook post.
"Well looky here; 15(ish) years later I get my high school class ring back," he wrote.
