Clint Giles doesn't find much worth mentioning in digging up sewer lines.

But when he does spot a gem below street level, as he did six months ago, he's determined to find its rightful owner.

"I just want them to have it back," said Giles. "When you get something special like this, it's something you can be proud of and would want to pass on down to your children."

The Magna Water Co. employee is talking about a ring his crew found working on a sewer job six months ago at 8035 Westberry Street in Magna.

"We saw something shiny," said Giles, who first noticed the ring. "It was an Air Force Academy ring."

The ring is actually an Air Force ring and not an Academy ring as first thought. Since finding the ring the crew have been trying to locate its owner. The ring holds a few clues to go on. It is a man's silver ring with a blue stone. On one side of the band is the name John and on the other side is "331 TRS Wolf Pack." Another clue is the inscription on the inside of the ring band, which required magnifying to read JDL 310 EGO 3 FLG 790.

Theories vary on how the ring ended up in the sewer and where the owner was now. Some wonder if a jilted girlfriend flushed it down the toilet, others wonder if "John" is serving in Iraq now.

Giles and fellow employee Shawn Wall have looked in the local phone book and called every John in the area. They tried the Internet and even called a few Air Force recruiters for help, but had no luck.

Getting nowhere, Wall placed it in his desk and forgot about it. Now Wall and Giles hope sharing the story of the ring with the news media will get more people involved in the search and find its rightful owner.

Wall said, "We're hoping someone with more resources and connections can figure out who the ring belongs to."

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E-mail: dramsay@desnews.com