Oklahoma woman on quest to reunite lost Oak Lawn High School class ring with rightful owner

OAK LAWN, Ill. - A woman in Oklahoma is on a mission to reunite a Chicago-area high school graduate with a class ring which was lost decades ago.

"I just found it about six weeks ago in a box," said Abby Zander, whose husband's family is originally from Oak Lawn.

Zander found the 1968 Oak Lawn class ring, which has mysteriously been with her family for decades. Her now-husband found it back in the 1980s as a teenager after his family moved from Oak Lawn to Arkansas, but at the time, he didn't think much of it.

"He just put it back in the box," said Zander. "He didn't graduate from Oak Lawn. He just put it back in the stuff. He just left it."

More than 40 years later, Zander – who lives in Tulsa – is now on a mission to reunite the ring with its rightful owner.

"I got a real thing about making sure people get things back, especially something as valuable as this," she said.

Here are the clues: it's a 1968 girls' class ring from Oak Lawn High School. On the inside, the ring is inscribed with the initials "J. W. M." or "T. W. M."

"The bummer part is the first letter has a scratch on it, so it's hard to tell whether it is a J or a T," said Zander. "The clue to it is: the middle initial is 'W.' I really do believe it's real gold. So I think it has a lot of physical value as well, so I really want it to go to the actual person."

Zander has gone to Oak Lawn facebook groups to track down the owner without luck. She has also gone to the 1968 Oak Lawn Yearbook, and found three graduating seniors whose initials might be a match.

If you know anyone in the class of '68 who's missing a ring, and has – or has had – the initials "J.W.M." or "T.W.M.", please reach out to FOX 32 Chicago so we can help Zander solve this mystery.