STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's an amazing but true lost and found story that still holds some elements of mystery.

A class ring that slipped off the finger of Gina Murgolo of Annadale while she was swimming in the ocean off of Long Island in 1975 was found 35 years later in Puerto Rico and returned to the owner through Facebook.

Ms. Murgolo, whose maiden name is DeMatteo, was living in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, and attending Bishop Kearney High School in Bensonhurst when she received the class ring.

The 1974 graduate "proudly wore" her high school ring until the summer of 1975. Her family had a summer home in Long Island and the ring somehow slipped off her finger while she was swimming off of Fire Island.

"I came out of the water and my high school ring wasn't on my finger," Ms. Murgolo recalled.

"I just remember that I was heartbroken when I realized it was gone. At that point in your life you're very proud of your high school ring."

She searched for the ring, but it was gone in the swirling surf.

Fastforward to August 2010, when Ms. Murgolo checked her Facebook profile and saw the following message: "Found a HS ring with your name in it, checking to see if it belongs to you, would like to return it, need you to describe the ring if it does belong to you."

Although Ms. Murgolo thought the message was a joke, she replied on Aug. 2 to Carol Vargas who was writing on behalf of her mother, Angelita Vargas of Mahopac, in Putnam County. The mother had found the ring while vacationing with her husband in Puerto Rico.

Ms. Murgolo has never been to Puerto Rico and has no idea how the ring ended up there.

The theories stretch from it being swallowed by a migrating fish to a strange sea current yet to be detected by oceanographers.

The finder was able to locate Ms. Murgolo, who has both her maiden and married names on Facebook, through her name inscribed inside the ring band.

In a Facebook message to Ms. Murgolo, Carol Vargas described the extensive efforts of the Vargas family to find the owner.

"To be honest, first we looked under the high school Web site itself -- under alumni but your year hasn't had a reunion. Then my husband tried the yellow pages as well as some various other sources and then finally when he & my father Googled your name we saw a few names under Facebook. We narrowed it down by location (Brooklyn native) and took a stab @ it being you... again my mother looked at the picture you posted & said "try her"... mother's intuition! Go figure! Again she felt strongly about the ring being with the owner... High school is a special time..."

Ms. Vargas requested Ms. Murgolo's address to return the ring. A cautious Ms. Murgolo gave her work address and to her astonishment received the jewelry in a priority mail package from the Postal Service. Enclosed was a card that read: "Gina enjoy your ring and its story. Pray for us, Angie."

"It's unbelievable, I really couldn't get over it, after so many years, I had forgotten about the ring to be honest with you," Ms. Murgolo said.

"How did it ever get to Puerto Rico? It absolutely amazed me."

Ms. Murgolo and Carol Vargas expressed gratitude in their Facebook exchanges.

"Thank you ...when you think the world is ugly you come upon people like you & your family & have a renewal in faith. I like to think we walk among angels," Ms. Murgolo wrote.

"It's funny that you called my mother an angel... her name is Angelita and my grandmother always told me that she named my mother this because she was born on the day of the angels...." Ms. Vargas wrote.

Ms. Murgolo, a geriatric case manager with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, enjoyed sharing the story with her patients.

"They got such as kick out of it," Ms. Murgolo said, making comments such as, "Your ring went on vacation and you never did."

"Every day I try to spread some sunshine as a visiting nurse but on that day the sunshine came my way."