It took Alice Williams 36 years to be reunited with her Bogalusa High School class ring after it was apparently stolen.

A 1970 BHS graduate, Williams said the ring was recovered last year by Taylor Bennett, who was swimming in the Amite River at Amite. Bennett’s father contacted Williams and returned the ring to her in July 2013.

“I was going through a divorce and was staying with some friends,” Williams said. “I took the ring off to go take a shower and put it in the middle of the bed. When I came back, it was gone.”

Williams described the lengths a man went to get the ring back to her.

“In 2013, a man called me on the phone and said ‘I’m looking for Alice Easterling. My name is John Russell, and I work in Amite. My son has found your ring. Your initials (A.C.E.) were inside.’”

Williams said Russell told her that he tried to go through the school to find out the ring’s owner, but that proved fruitless. She said he went to the courthouse to register to vote and found my name.”

Russell, his wife and son, who found the ring, went to Williams’ house to present her with her ring.

“I never knew who got the ring,” Williams said. “I have never been swimming in the Amite River at Amite before. I just have no idea how it got there.”