Hunt is on for the owner of a North Fort Myers class ring

Someone lost their North Fort Myers High School class ring decades ago in a Tampa-area motel. You can help in the search for the owner.

The shape and size of the ring suggest it belongs to a woman. The ring also has the initials S. L. P engraved onto the inside of it.

But who that is or what that may mean is something that Elaine Pearce-Zuehlsdorf is still working to figure out.

No matter how shiny or how dull it is, a class ring is much more than just some jewelry. It’s a testament to those four magical years of high school that you’re sure to never forget.

“You know, this is something that was meant to be, and it’s important that they have it,” Pearce-Zuehlsdorf said.

Elaine Pearce-Zuehlsdorf believes strongly that the owner of the ring deserves to have it back even though it is 40 years later.

“The ring was found at an estate sale of a very good friend of my parents,” Pearce-Zuehlsdorf said. “And when she passed away, all her life, she and her husband had had a motel in Bartow called the Tropicana Motel.”

That family friend found the ring in a room at the Tropicana Motel in September of 1981. The year engraved into the ring is also 1981.

Zuehlsdorf wants to know the story. First of all, what was a North Fort Myers grad doing in Bartow so soon after graduation.

“Here’s another thought. Why would you drive from Fort Myers to Bartow, and stop? It’s not really a stopping place. You know, you will, you’ve got many hours you can drive before you have to stop,” Pearce-Zuehlsdorf said.

Whoever this ring belongs to has a story. And to finish that story, Zuelsdorf is looking for the finger that ring fits on.

“I would just be happy that they, you know, they claim the ring and they have it and that that’s all I would say, here it’s fate. You, you need to have your ring back,” she said.

It could be fate, if someone realizes it’s theirs or if a friend knows who knows who SLP is.

It’s not the first time she’s tried to find the owner but hopes that with more people on Facebook and with more luck, SLP will get their ring back.

You can reach out to her via email if you any information about the identity of the owner.