Fifty-six years ago, Dr. Alfred DiStefano was watching the sunset when his Fordham University ring slipped off his finger into the vast Long Island Sound.

He said he couldn’t afford another one, and didn’t tell his parents for 10 years that he’d lost it because he said they couldn’t afford $110 at the time.

DiStefano grew up in Hicksville, attended Chaminade High School and then Fordham University. He ultimately settled in Texas, where he opened a medical practice. He said every once in awhile, he’d think about the ring he lost to the Long Island Sound.

Fast forward more than a half century.

David Orlowski likes to take his metal detector to Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai to search for hidden treasures. He recently went out in the water, knee deep at low tide and got a strong hit on the metal detector. He dug up a Fordham University ring, with DiStefano’s name and the year “1969.”

Orlowski’s wife encouraged him to try and find the owner. He reached out to a Fordham alumni Facebook group and very quickly was in touch with DiStefano.

Orlowski mailed him the ring.

DiStefano says he considers this a miracle. He said never in his wildest dream would he have expected the ring to be found.